Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40065466›Full record

ArticleBMC zoology2025

Exploring stress and morphology in two songbird species across urban, agricultural, and natural habitats on San Cristobal Island, Galapagos.

Andrés Mena, Martín Terán, Diana Calderón, Maria de Lourdes Torres, Diego F Cisneros-Heredia

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC zoology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Andrés MenaLaboratorio de Zoología Terrestre, Instituto de Biodiversidad Tropical IBIOTROP, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, 170901, Ecuador.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9767-0358
Martín TeránLaboratorio de Biotecnología Vegetal, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0008-9863-8761
Diana CalderónLaboratorio de Biotecnología Vegetal, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6739-8522
Maria de Lourdes TorresLaboratorio de Biotecnología Vegetal, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, Ecuador.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7207-4568
Diego F Cisneros-HerediaLaboratorio de Zoología Terrestre, Instituto de Biodiversidad Tropical IBIOTROP, Colegio de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad San Francisco de Quito USFQ, Quito, 170901, Ecuador. dcisneros@usfq.edu.ec.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6132-2738

Funding

Galapagos Science Center Galapagos POA grants (2019, 2019)Secretaría de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación, Ecuador Programa "Becas de Excelencia"Universidad San Francisco de Quito COCIBA grants (2018, 2019)Universidad San Francisco de Quito Operational funds, Laboratorio de Biotecnología de Plantas
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Land use changes can have morphological and physiological impacts on wildlife. This study aimed to explore the influence of anthropogenic land use on the morphology and corticosterone concentrations in two songbirds endemic to the Galapagos archipelago: the granivorous Small Ground Finch Geospiza fuliginosa and the insectivorous Galapagos Yellow Warbler Setophaga petechia aureola in San Cristobal Island. Birds were caught and measured between June and August 2018 and June and July 2019 across four areas with different human land uses: urban green areas in the coastal town of Puerto Baquerizo Moreno, natural deciduous forest in the lowlands, agricultural areas in the highlands, and seasonal evergreen forest in the highlands. Morphological comparisons among study areas were made using ANOVA or the Kurskall-Wallis test. Corticosterone levels obtained from tail feathers were measured with an ELISA test. Linear regression models were employed to explore the effects of the different human land uses on corticosterone concentrations. For G. fuliginosa, we found significant differences (p < 0.05) in weight, wing, and tarsus length between natural and disturbed habitats. The linear regression results showed higher corticosterone concentrations in urban G. fuliginosa than those in agricultural and natural habitats. Additionally, higher corticosterone concentrations were found in finches captured in 2018, a year with much higher precipitation than in 2019. For S. petechia aureola, the only significant difference (p < 0.05) between areas was a wider beak in birds captured in the seasonal forest compared to those from urban areas. Although our sample size does not allow for definitive conclusions, our results provide evidence that the ecology of each species plays a crucial role in shaping their morphological and physiological responses to land use changes and seasonal environmental changes.

Indexed as

CorticosteroneGalapagos IslandsGeospiza fuliginosaLand birdsLand use changeMorphological adaptationsSetophaga petechia aureolaWildlife stress response

Identifiers

PMID40065466
PMCPMC11892216

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.