Date: November
14, 2019
Source: Anglia
Ruskin University
A new
study has found that crows living in large social groups are healthier than
crows that have fewer social interactions.
The
research, led by Dr Claudia Wascher of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), has been
published this week in the journal Animal Behaviour.
Dr
Wascher and her colleagues studied a population of captive carrion crows over a
six-year period. They monitored the behaviour of the crows in different sized
groups and measured friendship by ranking the birds using a sociality index.
At the
same time, they studied the crows' droppings to measure for the presence of
coccidian oocyst, a gastrointestinal parasite that can represent an important
health threat for birds.
Increased
exposure to parasites and disease transmission is considered as one of the
major disadvantages of group living. This new study, however, shows the
opposite effect.
The
researchers found that crows with strong social bonds, living with more
relatives, and in larger groups, excreted a significantly smaller proportion of
droppings containing parasites than less sociable crows.
The study
did not find a connection between health and the crow's dominance within the
group, but found that male crows (33%) were slightly more likely to carry the
parasite than females (28%).
Dr
Wascher, Senior Lecturer in Biology at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said:
"Crows are a highly social bird and we found that crows with the strongest
social bonds excreted fewer samples containing coccidian oocyst, which is a
common parasite in birds.
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