The capacity to react quickly to species introductions and to plan effective management countermeasures is always difficult, and methodology is lacking. This paper summarizes the different steps of a decision-making protocol applied to the recent establishment of an exotic species, the House Sparrow Passer domesticus, in the Lesser Antilles. This pest bird damages crops, fruits and stored food ...

The stress response represents an animal's attempt to cope with a noxious stimulus through a rapid release of corticosterone or cortisol (CORT) into the bloodstream, resulting in a suite of physiological and behavioral changes. These changes are mediated in large part through CORT's binding to two different intracellular receptors, the high-affinity mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) and the lower...

Avipoxvirus (APV) is a fairly common virus affecting birds that causes morbidity and mortality in wild and captive birds. We studied the prevalence of pox-like lesions and genetic diversity of APV in house sparrows (Passer domesticus) in natural, agricultural and urban areas in southern Spain in 2013 and 2014 and in central Spain for 8 months (2012-2013). Overall, 3.2% of 2,341 house sparrows v...

Cobalt-60 Irradiation/Testis/House Sparrow (Passer domesticus, Linn.) Adult male house sparrows were exposed to Co-60 external irradiation at doses of 475, 712 and 950R. The dose rate was 100 R/hr at a distance of one foot. The birds were autopsied at intervals of 1, 3, 5, 7 and 15 days after irradiation. Testes were studied for histopathological damage produced. There was a significant loss of...