Assessment of population dynamics, breeding behaviour, socio-ecological and economic impacts of the Indian house crow

The Indian house crow (Corvus splendens) is one of the world's most successful avian invaders — and Tanzania is now facing the consequences. Since its deliberate introduction to Zanzibar in the 1890s as just 50 birds, the species has exploded to over a million individuals and spread across at least 16 regions of the country, from the coast to inland cities, with its range now advancing toward the Lake Victoria basin. Left unchecked, this rapid expansion threatens native biodiversity, public health, agriculture, tourism, and aviation safety — yet Tanzania still lacks the basic scientific data needed to design an effective, evidence-based response.

This project addresses that gap directly. Led by a research team from the University of Dodoma's Department of Biology, the study will investigate the IHC's population dynamics, movement patterns, breeding biology, and socio-ecological and economic impacts across four strategically selected regions — Mjini Magharibi (Zanzibar), Dar es Salaam, Morogoro, and Dodoma — representing a colonisation gradient from the earliest-invaded coastal areas to the most recently colonised inland semi-arid zone.

Using a robust, multi-method approach, the team will:

• Estimate IHC abundance and density through systematic line-transect surveys, while simultaneously tracking co-occurring native bird populations to assess competitive and predatory impacts

• Deploy bird banding, wing-tagging, and lightweight Bluetooth tracking technology to map daily and seasonal movement patterns and roost fidelity — among the first studies of its kind for this species in East Africa

• Conduct detailed nest surveys to determine clutch size, brood size, and nest success across the colonisation gradient

• Quantify the socio-economic and ecological costs of the invasion through household surveys, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews with government agencies (TAWIRI, NEMC, Ministries of Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural Resources), capturing livestock losses, crop damage, and impacts on native avifauna

The findings will fill critical evidence gaps identified in existing literature — which to date has been fragmented, geographically limited, and has never quantified the economic toll of this invasion in Tanzania. By generating the first comprehensive, multi-region dataset on IHC ecology and impact in the country, this research will directly inform the design of sustainable, ecologically sound control and management strategies — replacing the costly, largely ineffective poisoning and trapping programmes used to date (which have already cost Zanzibar over US$1.5 million without achieving eradication).

Why this matters for funders and collaborators:

• Addresses a designated national priority invasive species under Tanzania's biodiversity policy framework

• Generates transferable, policy-relevant evidence applicable to other IHC-invaded countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia

• Combines ecological fieldwork, novel tracking technology, and social science methods — an interdisciplinary model for invasive species research

• Strong institutional backing from the University of Dodoma and established partnerships with national research and regulatory bodies

• Builds local research capacity while contributing to global understanding of avian invasion biology, urban ecology, and biodiversity conservation

Therefore, we invite universities, research institutes, conservation organisations, and funding bodies to partner with us — whether through co-funding, technical collaboration (e.g., GIS/spatial ecology, molecular/genetic analysis, or tracking technology), or joint publication and capacity-building initiatives — to help deliver a lasting, science-based solution to one of Tanzania's most pressing invasive species challenges.