Offspring defense by an urban raptor responds to human subsidies and ritual animal-feeding practices

Kumar, N

Alternative title:: Offspring defense by an urban raptor

Documentation:: This dataset was created during the DPhil dissertation of Nishant Kumar (Department of Zoology, Oxford). The field site was Delhi. Name of the thesis: Ecology and Ethno-ornithology of Black Kites Milvus migrans in Delhi, India.

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APA Style

Kumar, N. (2018). Offspring defense by an urban raptor responds to human subsidies and ritual animal-feeding practices. University of Oxford.

MLA Style

Kumar, N. Offspring Defense by an Urban Raptor Responds to Human Subsidies and Ritual Animal-Feeding Practices. University of Oxford, 2018.

Chicago Style

Kumar, N. 2018. “Offspring Defense by an Urban Raptor Responds to Human Subsidies and Ritual Animal-Feeding Practices.” University of Oxford.
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Files:: Empirical Dataset (Nest Defense).xlsx

(sheet, 86.0KB, Terms of use)

Authors/Creators

+ Kumar, N More by this author/creator

Institution:: University of Oxford
Division:: MPLS
Department:: Zoology
Role:: Researcher, Creator

+ Raptor Research and Conservation Foundation, Mumbai (India) More from this funder

Grant:: 2013; 2014; 2016

+ Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change, Govt. of India More from this funder

Grant:: 2013

Publisher:: University of Oxford
Publication date:: 2018
DOI:: 10.5287/bodleian:KZPgrPVzg

Language:: English
Pubs id:: 1480116
UUID:: uuid:8cb6299a-db11-48c1-939f-0b630f44bf03
Local pid:: pubs:1480116
Deposit date:: 2018-10-08

Related item:: Offspring defense by an urban raptor responds to human subsidies and ritual animal-feeding practices
Description:: There is a growing interest in the behavioural and life history mechanisms that allow animal species to cope with rapidly expanding urban habitats, which impose frequent proximity to humans. A particular case of behavioral bottleneck (i.e. conflicting interests) faced by animals in urban environments is how they will modulate the defence of their offspring against the potential danger represented by humans, an aspect that has received scarce research attention. We examined the nest defense against humans by a dense breeding population of a raptor, the Black Kite Milvus migrans, within the megacity of Delhi (India). Here, kites live on a diet dominated by human waste and meat offered through religiously motivated bird feeding practices. Nest defense levels increased with the number of offspring, and with the progression of the breeding season. Defense also intensified close to ritual-feeding areas and with increasing human waste in the streets, suggesting synergistic effects of food availability, parental investment, personality-boldness and habituation to humans, with consequent attenuation of fear. Thus, the behavioural response to a perceived threat reflected the spatial mosaic of activity of humans in the city streets, their cultural practices of ritual-feeding, and their waste-management. For synurbic species, at the higher-end spectrum of adaptation to an urban life, human cultural practices and attitudes may well be the most defining dimensions of their urban niche. Our results suggest that, after initial urban colonization, animals may continue to adapt to the typically complex, heterogeneous environments of cities through fine-grained behavioural adjustments to human practices and activities.

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Licence:: Terms and Conditions of Use for Oxford University Research Archive

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Offspring defense by an urban raptor responds to human subsidies and ritual animal-feeding practices

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