Grantee: Paul Jerem

Institution: Tufts University, United States

Grant amount: $37,780

Grant type: Challenge grants

Focal species: House sparrow (Passer domesticus)

Conservation status: Least concern

Disciplines: Physiology, ornithology

Research location: United States

Project summary

Animal stress responses evolved to increase survival, in part by stimulating behaviors that reduce exposure to challenging situations. However, young birds who are entirely reliant on their parents (“altricial”) are incapable of acting to change their circumstances, potentially exposing them to the damaging effects of chronic stress. Such species are known to suppress aspects of their stress physiology during development. However, it remains unclear if other parts of the system remain active and could serve as useful indicators for efforts to improve early life welfare. This project seeks to investigate this possibility in juvenile house sparrows (Passer domesticus) using a novel, non-invasive method for inferring internal state — thermal imaging of body surface temperatures.

Why we funded this project

We especially want to understand juvenile welfare, because in most species that is the most experienced life stage, and often the most vulnerable. However, developmental changes can make it difficult to compare welfare between juveniles and adults. This project will calibrate a non-invasive proxy of welfare that can be applied to both adult and altricial juvenile birds, enabling not only better welfare assessments, but more effective lifetime comparisons. A better understanding of the “shape” of lifetime welfare would in turn inform interventions that might disproportionately affect individuals of certain ages.

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