A Possible Effect of Electromagnetic Radiation from Mobile Phone Base Stations on the Number of Breeding House Sparrows (Passer domesticus)

A possible effect of long-term exposure to low-intensity electromagnetic radiation from mobile phone (GSM) base stations on the number of House Sparrows during the breeding season was studied in six residential districts in Belgium. We sampled 150 point locations within the 6 areas to examine small-scale geographic variation in the number of House Sparrow males and the strength of electromagnetic radiation from base stations. Spatial variation in the number of House Sparrow males was negatively and highly significantly related to the strength of electric fields from both the 900 and 1800 MHz downlink frequency bands and from the sum of these bands (Chi2-tests and AIC-criteria, P < 0.001). This negative relationship was highly similar within each of the six study areas, despite differences among areas in both the number of birds and radiation levels. Thus, our data show that fewer House Sparrow males were seen at locations with relatively high electric field strength values of GSM base stations and therefore support the notion that long-term exposure to higher levels of radiation negatively affects the abundance or behavior of House Sparrows in the wild.

[1]  Andreas Karabarbounis,et al.  Effect of GSM 900-MHz Mobile Phone Radiation on the Reproductive Capacity of Drosophila melanogaster , 2004 .

[2]  G. Wnek,et al.  Encyclopedia of biomaterials and biomedical engineering , 2008 .

[3]  O. A. Grigor'ev,et al.  [Anthropogenic EMF effects on the condition and function of natural ecosystems]. , 2003, Radiatsionnaia biologiia, radioecologiia.

[4]  O. Gandhi,et al.  Intermittent exposure of rats to 2450 MHz microwaves at 2.5 mW cm2: behavioral and physiological effects. , 1986, Bioelectromagnetics.

[5]  Thorsten Ritz,et al.  Resonance effects indicate a radical-pair mechanism for avian magnetic compass , 2004, Nature.

[6]  F. Moore,et al.  Calibration of magnetic and celestial compass cues in migratory birds - a review of cue-conflict experiments , 2006, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[7]  J. Bigu-del-Blanco,et al.  The properties of bird feathers as converse piezoelectric transducers and as receptors of microwave radiation. I. Bird feathers as converse piezoelectric transducers. , 1975, Biotelemetry.

[8]  F E Wasserman,et al.  The effects of microwave radiation on avian dominance behavior. , 1984, Bioelectromagnetics.

[9]  M. Penafiel,et al.  The effect of pulsed and sinusoidal magnetic fields on the morphology of developing chick embryos. , 1997, Bioelectromagnetics.

[10]  E. V. Evdokimov,et al.  [Effect of low-frequency pulse-modulated 460 MHz electromagnetic irradiation on Drosophila embryos]. , 2001, Radiatsionnaia biologiia, radioecologiia.

[11]  W. R. Adey,et al.  Tissue interactions with nonionizing electromagnetic fields. , 1981, Physiological reviews.

[12]  J. Summers-Smith.  The decline of the House Sparrow: a review , 2003 .

[13]  E. A. Navarro,et al.  The Microwave Syndrome: A Preliminary Study in Spain , 2003 .

[14]  J. Bigu-del-Blanco,et al.  The properties of bird feathers as converse piezoelectric transducers and as receptors of microwave radiation. II. Bird feathers as dielectric receptors of microwave radiation. , 1975, Biotelemetry.

[15]  K. Fernie,et al.  The Effects of Electromagnetic Fields From Power Lines on Avian Reproductive Biology and Physiology: A Review , 2005, Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part B, Critical reviews.

[16]  F. Farahat,et al.  Neurobehavioral effects among inhabitants around mobile phone base stations. , 2007, Neurotoxicology.

[17]  J. Kirschvink.  Microwave absorption by magnetite: a possible mechanism for coupling nonthermal levels of radiation to biological systems. , 1996, Bioelectromagnetics.

[18]  G. Hyland.  Physics and biology of mobile telephony , 2000, The Lancet.

[19]  R. Santini,et al.  [Investigation on the health of people living near mobile telephone relay stations: I/Incidence according to distance and sex]. , 2002, Pathologie-biologie.

[20]  J. A. Tanner,et al.  Non-thermal Effects of Microwave Radiation on Birds , 1967, Nature.

[21]  Alfonso Balmori,et al.  Possible Effects of Electromagnetic Fields from Phone Masts on a Population of White Stork (Ciconia ciconia) , 2005 .

[22]  Henrik Mouritsen,et al.  Magnetoreception and its use in bird navigation , 2005, Current Opinion in Neurobiology.

[23]  Igor Belyaev,et al.  Non-thermal Biological Effects of Microwaves , 2005 .

[24]  Marek Zmyślony,et al.  [Subjective symptoms reported by people living in the vicinity of cellular phone base stations: review]. , 2004, Medycyna pracy.

[25]  O P Gandhi,et al.  Behavioral and physiological effects of chronic 2,450-MHz microwave irradiation of the rat at 0.5 mW/cm2. , 1986, Bioelectromagnetics.

[26]  J. A. Tanner,et al.  Effect of Microwave Radiation on Birds , 1966, Nature.

[27]  Thorsten Ritz,et al.  Magnetic compass orientation of migratory birds in the presence of a 1.315 MHz oscillating field , 2005, Naturwissenschaften.

[28]  I. Belyaev.  Nonthermal Biological Effects of Microwaves: Current Knowledge, Further Perspective, and Urgent Needs , 2005 .

[29]  M Kundi,et al.  Subjective symptoms, sleeping problems, and cognitive performance in subjects living near mobile phone base stations , 2006, Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

[30]  Neil D. Burgess,et al.  Bird Census Techniques , 1992 .

[31]  Robert C. Beason,et al.  Responses of neurons to an amplitude modulated microwave stimulus , 2002, Neuroscience Letters.

[32]  J. Bernhardt,et al.  Non-ionizing radiation safety: radiofrequency radiation, electric and magnetic fields , 1992, Physics in medicine and biology.

[33]  R. Wolf,et al.  INCREASED INCIDENCE OF CANCER NEAR A CELL-PHONE TRANSMITTER STATION , 2005 .

[34]  R. Santini,et al.  Study of the health of people living in the vicinity of mobile phone base stations: I. Influe nces of distance and sex * , 2002 .

[35]  W. Wiltschko,et al.  Magnetic orientation and magnetoreception in birds and other animals , 2005, Journal of Comparative Physiology A.

[36]  A. Liboff,et al.  New model for the avian magnetic compass. , 2000, Bioelectromagnetics.

[37]  Emel Atli,et al.  The effects of microwave frequency electromagnetic fields on the development of Drosophila melanogaster , 2006, International journal of radiation biology.

[38]  Henry C. Lai.  Biological Effects of Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Field , 2005 .