Symposium number: 10

Title: THE STATUS OF THE HOUSE SPARROW Passer domesticus IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Principal organizer: Jenny De Laet
Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000Ghent, Belgium
email: famtrapp@pi.be

Second organizer: J.Denis Summers Smith
Thames Avenue 79, Guisborough TS14 6AJ, England

First keynote speaker:  J. Denis Summers Smith & Jenny De Laet
Thames Avenue 79, Guisborough TS14 6AJ, England;
Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Ghent University, Ledeganckstraat 35, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
Title of first keynote paper: The status of the urban House Sparrow, Passer domesticus, in the world

Second keynote speaker: Will Peach
RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy,Beds. SG19 2DL, England
Title of second keynote paper: Environmental causes of the decline of urban House Sparrows: a review of the evidence.

Contributed talks

Symposium description: The House Sparrow is unique among wild birds in its close association with, indeed virtual dependence on, man. It might be expected that, with man's dominance of the world, the future would be bright for the bird, not only in the agricultural environment where presumably its commensalism first evolved, but also in built up areas where it has been a dominant species. It is now becoming evident that this is not so, particularly in highly developed western Europe. Any significant change in the population of a species, particularly a dramatic decrease such as has occurred recently in urban House Sparrows in western Europe, is clearly of deep environmental concern. This decline has been the subject of much speculation, but the reasons for it are still not properly understood.
The aim of this symposium is to provide a base-line summary of the present status of the House Sparrow in urban areas, and from it to identify the areas of research needed for elucidating underlying causes of the sparrow’s decline. Application of the precautionary principle demands that we prioritise such research in urban areas, because of the possibility that what is affecting the House Sparrow today may impact on human populations tomorrow.

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