Exposure to Pb impairs breeding success and is associated with longer lifespan in urban European blackbirds - Archive ouverte HAL Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Scientific Reports Année : 2019

Exposure to Pb impairs breeding success and is associated with longer lifespan in urban European blackbirds

Résumé

Although several factors have been highlighted to explain the influence of urbanization on bird fitness and survival, the role of persistent toxicants such as lead (Pb), which is typically present in urban areas worldwide, has seldom been studied despite the ecological importance of such a widespread stressor. Studying free-living European blackbirds (Turdus merula) in city parks, we tested the hypothesis that low-dose chronic exposure to Pb could shape the life-history traits of urban birds. The feather concentrations of Pb and cadmium were typical of urban areas and low-to-moderate contamination of sites. Although the lifetime breeding success of females decreased with increasing exposure to Pb, the lifespan and survival probabilities of blackbirds increased with Pb contamination regardless of gender. Breeding effort-dependent patterns in the relationship between lifespan and Pb levels were highlighted. No significant relationships were detected between cadmium and life-history traits. The results suggest a possible trade-off between self-maintenance and reproduction, with the most affected birds redirecting allocations towards their own survival, which is consistent with the "stress hormone hypothesis". These findings suggest that Pb pollution in urban environments may shape avian ecological features and be one of the drivers of wildlife responses to urbanization and that some urban areas may function as ecological traps driven by pollutants.
Fichier principal
Vignette du fichier
Fritsch_etal_BlackbirdsPoland_ScientificReports_2019.pdf (1.51 Mo) Télécharger le fichier
Origine : Fichiers éditeurs autorisés sur une archive ouverte
Loading...

Dates et versions

hal-02124722 , version 1 (09-05-2019)

Licence

Paternité

Identifiants

Citer

Clémentine Fritsch, Dariusz Wysocki. Exposure to Pb impairs breeding success and is associated with longer lifespan in urban European blackbirds. Scientific Reports, 2019, 9, pp.486. ⟨10.1038/s41598-018-36463-4⟩. ⟨hal-02124722⟩
77 Consultations
59 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More