Abstract
Within highly urban systems, anthropogenic activity often fluctuates cyclically, e.g. between weekdays and weekends. Thus, urban species may regularly experience significant changes in human activity and anthropogenic food abundance over very short time scales. Knowledge of how urban birds cope with such fluctuations may improve our understanding of how some species exploit and thrive in urbanised habitats. In this study, we explore the consequences of highly fluctuating anthropogenic food for Red-winged Starlings Onychognathus morio at the University of Cape Town campus, South Africa. Here, high numbers of students (and therefore anthropogenic food resources) are present during weekdays in term time (high human presence “HHP” days). However, students are largely absent and food outlets closed during weekends and vacation periods (“LHP” days). Using focal observations and morning and evening weights of habituated colour-ringed starlings during the non-breeding season, we investigated how diet, behaviour and daily mass gain differed between HHP and LHP days. We hypothesised that anthropogenic food supply is beneficial to this city-dwelling species. We predicted that on HHP days starlings would consume overall more food and a greater proportion of anthropogenic food items, resulting in less time spent foraging and greater daily mass gain compared to LHP days. We found that on HHP days, starlings consumed more anthropogenic food, however overall food intake, and time budgets were similar to LHP days. Additionally, there was an indication that mass gain was greater on HHP days. Thus, starlings appear to cope with potential food shortage on LHP days by including more natural items in their diet.
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Acknowledgments
This research was funded by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence and a South Africa (NRF) / Sweden (STINT) science and technology research collaboration (STINT 160909188048). We wish to thank Robert Thomson for assistance with the starling trapping and his advice in planning the project in its early stages, as well as to Caroline Isaksson, Martin Andersson, Hannah Watson, Johan Nilsson and Arne Hegemann for their input on the Red-winged Starling research. We are grateful to Amanda Bourne and Tom Flower for valuable advice on a suitable habituation protocol and to Natasha Pindral for her continuing support in volunteering for the project. MS would also like to express her gratitude for the funding received from the UCT Postgraduate funding office. PS was supported by the Claude Leon Foundation post-doctoral fellowship.
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Stofberg, M., Cunningham, S., Sumasgutner, P. et al. Juggling a “junk-food” diet: responses of an urban bird to fluctuating anthropogenic-food availability. Urban Ecosyst 22, 1019–1026 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00885-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00885-3