Linked Data API

Show Search Form

Search Results

967551
star this property registered interest false more like this
star this property date less than 2018-09-04more like thismore than 2018-09-04
star this property answering body
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept id 13 more like this
star this property answering dept short name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property answering dept sort name Environment, Food and Rural Affairs more like this
star this property hansard heading Starlings more like this
star this property house id 2 more like this
star this property legislature
25277
star this property pref label House of Lords more like this
star this property question text To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of low concentrations of anti-depressants on the courtship and breeding of starlings. more like this
star this property tabling member printed
Lord Tebbit more like this
star this property uin HL10033 remove filter
star this property answer
answer
unstar this property is ministerial correction false more like this
star this property date of answer remove filter
star this property answer text <p>The experiments conducted by University of York in collaboration with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) demonstrated that exposing starlings to a maximal environmentally relevant concentration of an anti-depressant (fluoxetine) altered courtship behaviour in wild-caught starlings (<em>Sturnus vulgaris</em>). The males sang less and were more aggressive towards females that had been dosed with an anti-depressant than to the untreated females and in addition the treated females were also initially more aggressive towards males than the untreated females. However there were no effects on female courtship behaviour or on circulating female hormones in treated females. These findings suggest that exposure to this dose of anti-depressant reduced female attractiveness to the male but the reasons why are not clear. Whether these levels of anti-depressants in the environment would have a significant effect on an individual’s fitness or the population as a whole requires further investigation.</p><p> </p>
star this property answering member printed Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
star this property question first answered
less than 2018-09-17T12:36:31.22Zmore like thismore than 2018-09-17T12:36:31.22Z
star this property answering member
4161
star this property label Biography information for Lord Gardiner of Kimble more like this
unstar this property tabling member
952
unstar this property label Biography information for Lord Tebbit more like this