Prepared by: Muna Munirah binti Mustafa (B21BE0133) Checked by: Dr.

Ak Mohd Rafiq Ak Matusin

Assignment 1: The Biodiversity

BIOINDICATOR Bioindicators are used to measure environmental

health and detect positive or negative environmental
changes and their effects on human society.

House Sparrow
Bioindicator Species 1 Biomonitoring 2
The house sparrow, or Passer domesticus, is a bird that The House Sparrow is a globally distributed urban bird
lives in most parts of the world. It is in the family of and can monitor urban heavy metal pollution.
sparrows called Passeridae. The house sparrow is often
found where people live, but it can also live in rural Aims
areas. Reference: House Sparrow Wikipedia, 2022
To show a definite influence of environmental pollution
on the levels of metals accumulated by House Sparrow.
Specificity
House sparrows are a major urban pollution indicator. Biomonitoring Process
Reference: Research Gate, 2018
1. House Sparrows of various ages were collected from
Representativeness both urban and rural areas.
2. Adult birds were caught by cage traps. Nests with
The species has 12 subspecies and is eggs were visited regularly to determine the
one of the most common in the world. hatching date.
Reference: Summer-Smith, 2009
3. Birds were sacrificed, put in plastic bags, and deep-
Abundance frozen for later analysis.
4. The eggs were kept in the refrigerator (4°C) until
House Sparrows are abundant where they
they were analyzed.
feed but uncommon in polluted, crowded, and
5. Birds were dissected and specimens of
heavily built-up areas. Green urban planning
following tissues were obtained: breast
and management ensure varied green zones
feathers and muscles, liver, lungs, heart,
with enough vegetation coverage to offer natural
brain, stomach (with contents) and
food versus anthropogenic food leftovers.
Reference: Bird Study, 2018
bones (femur and tibia fibula).

Social Importance
Biomonitoring Results
Sparrows maintain the food web and ecological balance.
1. Metals in tissues and eggs
The bird's food of seeds, grains, and larvae helps control
2. Metals in egg content and egg shell
pests. Sparrows pollinate plants by visiting flowers and
3. Metals in sparrows from urban and rural regions
transferring pollen. These birds can indicate biological or
4. Metals in males and females
environmental change and ecosystem health.
5. Metal accumulation with age
Reference: House Sparrow, The Ultimate Urban Dweller, 2022 Reference: Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 2006

Biomonitoring in Planning Perspectives 3

Biomonitoring of House Sparrows House Sparrow as
in planning perspectives bioindicator in planning perspectives
Characteristics and uses of house sparrows: Reasons of migration by house sparrows:
1. Adapted to fast-changing urban environments. • Change in the model of construction which is
2. Help scientists predict bird population RCC roofing. This model prevents birds from
changes and coexist with birds. building their nests.
3. Learn how birds adapt to human • Pollution such as electronic-magnetic radiation
environments. from mobile phone towers.
• Large-scale urbanization.
Results: • Rampant use of chemical fertilizers and
1. Discover the urban’s density. pesticides.
2. Light pollution or noise levels.
3. Used rural–urban dichotomy to estimate urban While sustaining the citizen movement is
environment and population density. important, creating an environment where birds
4. To show lead levels in the birds' blood and to thrive naturally is the only way to secure the future
determine where the lead is coming from. of many such neighbourhood birds.
5. Understand how urban expansion is changing
ecosystems, individuals, populations, and Developer can also change building’s design to
genetics. offer sparrows nest holes in walls.
Reference: The Ecological Society of America, 2022 Reference: Scientia Brainery, 2021
REFERENCES
1. Wikipedia. (2022). House sparrow. Germany. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_sparrow

2. Cid, Fabricio & Fernández, Noelia & Pérez-Chaca, María & Pardo, Rafael & Caviedes-Vidal, Enrique &
Chediack, Juan. (2018). House sparrow biomarkers as lead pollution bioindicators. Evaluation of dose and
exposition length on hematological and oxidative stress parameters. Ecotoxicology and environmental
safety.

3. Edgar Bernat-Ponce, José Antonio Gil-Delgado & Daniel Guijarro (2018) Factors affecting the abundance
of House Sparrows Passer domesticus in urban areas of southeast of Spain, Bird Study. Retrieved from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00063657.2018.1518403?needAccess=true

4. Avni Gupta, Wildlife SOS. (2022). House Sparrow, The Ultimate Urban Dweller. United Kingdom. Retrieved
from https://wildlifesos.org/animals/house-sparrow-the-ultimate-urban-
dweller/#:~:text=Sparrows%20play%20a%20role%20in,an%20effective%20pest%20control%20agent.

5. K M Swaileh, R Sansur. (2005). Monitoring urban heavy metal pollution using the House Sparrow (Passer
domesticus). United States of America. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16395481/

6. Lulzim Millaku, Resmije Imeri and Artan Trebicka. (2014). House sparrow (Passer domesticus) as
bioindicator of heavy metals pollution. Pelagia Research Library. Retrieved from
https://www.primescholars.com/articles/house-sparrow-passer-domesticus-as-bioindicator-of-heavy-
metals-pollution.pdf

7. Ayansina Segun Ayangbenro, Olubukola Oluranti Babalola. (2017). A New Strategy for Heavy Metal
Polluted Environments: A Review of Microbial Biosorbents. National Library of Medicine, Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5295344/

8. Jessica Briffa, Emmanuel Sinagra, Renald Blundell. (2020). Heavy metal pollution in the environment and
their toxicological effects on humans. University of Malta, Msida. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844020315346

9. Scientia Brainery. (2021). House sparrow as bioindicator for pollution (Why House sparrow is declining in
Urban areas). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG_akwq0jUE

10. Heidi Swanson. (2022). Urban density strongly correlates with house sparrow health. The Ecological
Society of America. Retrieved from https://www.esa.org/blog/2022/06/27/urban-ecology-through-the-
eyes-of-the-sparrow/

Prepared by: Muna Munirah binti Mustafa (B21BE0133)

Checked by: Dr. Ak Mohd Rafiq Ak Matusin