 |
| Image Source: Down To Earth |
Birds are sensitive to environmental changes and act as an indicator of the ecological balance of a particular habitat. House sparrow, Passer Domesticus is a small bird, locally known as ‘Chorui’ is closely associated with human Habitation. Sparrow population has decreased Considerably in many parts of the globe in Particular urban-suburban gradient.
“A healthy population of these birds has
disappeared in urban areas because of habitat issues. With the disappearance,
their ecological role is gone,” said Sudipto Chatterjee, Associate Professor,
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) School of Advanced Studies.
The reasons for the decline of the sparrow
population are loss of habitat due to rapid urbanization, diminishing
ecological resources for sustenance, high levels of pollution, and emissions
from microwave towers.
“Ventilators in homes have been replaced
by ACS and trees by ornamental plants and decorative flower shrubs in parks,
making it impossible for the bird to make nests,”
Another reason is replacement by other
avian species. “The threat is the introduction of other avian species like
pigeons with a greater reproduction rate and a more generalized need for
survival. With pigeons being an invasive species to the sparrow landscape, the
competition for resources increased and pushed the sparrows to degraded and ecologically
sub-structured regions of their natural habitat,”
Possible reasons for House Sparrow
decline
Over the past few decades, however, house
sparrow populations have decreased in many towns and cities around the world.
The most commonly mentioned reasons for these decreases are lack of food,
especially invertebrates, and fewer nesting sites and shelters.
Reasons why the sparrow is fast
disappearing
- Felling of trees: It is common knowledge that more the number of trees, more the number of birds.
- Absence of native plants: Native plants such as adulsa, mehndi, and many others are outdone by fancy non-native ones like Duranta Erecta, Dumb Cane, and others as the trend of modern landscaping catches on.
- Absence of hedgerows: Contemporary landscaping is also doing away with hedges, which are preferred by sparrows for nesting. Thick hedgerows are known to protect nesting birds such as the sparrow from predation.
- Widespread use of concrete Sparrows is known to take two types of baths—one with water and one with dust. With the extensive use of concrete, the species is unable to take dust baths.
- Modern grocery storage Speaking of food, sparrows are known to feed on tiny grains like bajra, which were earlier freely available from pecking at gunny bags stored outside older-style grocery stores and even the grains spilled on the ground. Modern grocery stores with air-conditioning and plastic packaging takes away any chance of finding food grains to feed on.
- Chemical fertilizers in agricultural produce: Heavy use of chemical fertilizers leads to agricultural produce being laced by them, hence ruining the food of sparrows.
- Cell phone radiation
electromagnetic fields and radiation created by mobile towers are known to
affect sparrows, simultaneously indicating that the radiation is also harmful
to humans.
 |
| Image Source: Rediffmail |
The electromagnetic radiations and
its impacts on bird diversity in India
Cellular phones are essential to our lives
and so are the cellular phone base stations. They are not simply free-standing
towers but a balloon of an invisible electromagnetic field with radiations that
continue to threaten life around them, specifically of the birds.
Electromagnetic fields and radiations that are invisible to the human eye are omnipresent. Several natural and anthropogenic sources generate electromagnetic fields in the surrounding air like television towers, radio towers, and cell phone towers.
Cellular phones and mobile base
stations transmit a strong electromagnetic field.
Birds are known to be sensitive to
magnetic radiation. An increasing number of cell phone towers in cities apparently
are bringing down the bird population. The microwaves (300 MHz to 300 GHz) emitted
by cell phone towers and handsets are responsible for damaging
eggs and embryos of sparrows.
Cellular phones are essential to our lives
for all communications. However, their extensive usage and upgraded
services continue to threaten the species diversity and the lives of different
birds in the region.
Bird diversity is important to keep the plant diversity and all the researchers must try to begin looking for alternative technology for safe surroundings.
Written By - Violet Priscilla S
Edited By - Anamika Malik
.jpeg)
0 Comments