Spatiotemporal Dynamics of House Crow (Corvus splendens) Populations in Relation to Thermal Variations in Jaipur, Rajasthan

Abstract

Urban avian species such as the House Crow (Corvus splendens) are widely used as bioindicators of urban ecosystem health, behavioural microclimatic adaptation, and anthropogenic resource availability. Despite the species' ubiquity across South Asian cities, quantitative links between short-term thermal variation and fine-scale spatial population dynamics remain sparsely documented for semi-arid Indian cities. This study examined the daily population dynamics of C. splendens across five spatially distinct sites in Jaipur, Rajasthan, over a 31-day period in July 2026, and evaluated the influence of ambient daily temperature (maximum, minimum, and diurnal range) on spatial and temporal distribution. Daily point-count surveys (N = 31 days) were conducted at five urban sampling sites alongside daily meteorological recording of actual high (Tmax) and low (Tmin) ambient temperature. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Pearson correlation and linear regression. Across the 31-day monitoring period, the mean daily total population across all sites was 52.68 ± 17.05 individuals (range 17–81 individuals/day). Site 2 recorded the highest mean density (17.97 ± 11.65 individuals/day) and Site 1 the lowest (5.97 ± 3.72 individuals/day); one-way ANOVA confirmed significant spatial heterogeneity among the five sites (F(4,150) = 12.70, p = 6.29 × 10⁻⁹). Daily total population was positively and significantly correlated with maximum ambient temperature (r = 0.4697, p = 0.0077), whereas the correlation with minimum temperature was weak and non-significant (r = 0.1353, p = 0.468). A weaker, marginally non-significant positive relationship was observed between diurnal thermal amplitude (ΔT = Tmax − Tmin) and total population (r = 0.328, p = 0.072). Weekend counts (Saturday–Sunday mean = 61.4) exceeded mid-week counts (mean = 49.7), though the difference approached but did not reach conventional significance (p = 0.102). Higher diurnal thermal conditions were associated with increased aggregate crow abundance, consistent with thermally driven flocking, foraging activity, or aggregation near thermal refugia and anthropogenic food and water sources in a semi-arid urban environment. Spatial heterogeneity in site-level density further suggests that resource distribution mediates the population's response to thermal stress.