Utilizing the House crow (Corvidae: Corvus splendens): insights into evolutionary genetics and the environment.

The House crow (Corvus splendens) is an invasive urban species, widely distributed in its native range in South Asia. It has been introduced into many other countries, including Malaysia. Several native and introduced populations were studied to explore the adaptive genetic features and long-term evolutionary history to gain insight into the high invasion potential of this species in various environmental conditions. It is also shown how this urban species that is predominantly commensal to humans can be a good bio-monitor for the urban environment and can be used to illustrate the threats to human well-being from pollution in that environment.