Great Tit (Parus major) breath rate in response to handling stress: urban and forest birds differ

• DOI: 10.1007/s10336-013-1025-5
• Publication Date: 2013-11-18T06:06:57Z
• Authors: Anna Torné-Noguera; Emilio Pagani-Núñez; Juan Carlos Senar
• Keywords: 2. Zero hunger; 0106 biological sciences; 11. Sustainability; 15. Life on land; 01 natural sciences

Animal research commonly requires temporary handling of study animals. In this study, we compared the response to handling stress in urban and forest Great Tits (Parus major). We measured breath rate, which has been suggested as a proxy of the stress response of the bird. Urban birds displayed higher breath rates than forest birds. Results suggest that the effect of handling can vary from one habitat to another and should be taken into account in future studies on the topic.