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Fraixedas S, Riera A, Barriocanal C, Alorda-Montiel I, Quesada J, Rodellas V, Garcia-Orellana J. Concentrations and distribution of 210Pb in bird feathers and its potential for tracing age and flight times. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RADIOACTIVITY 2024; 274:107397. [PMID: 38367584 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvrad.2024.107397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
Bird feathers have been widely used as environmental indicators, providing key information on environmental pollution. However, there is little available information on the adsorption of natural radioactivity in bird feathers and consequently, its impact on the field of movement ecology is not yet known. This study investigates the concentration and distribution of 210Pb in wing- and tail-feathers of different bird species with contrasting migratory strategies, and discusses its potential use as a tracer of age and flight times. Adsorption of 210Pb in bird feathers is directly related to the interaction of feathers with air, therefore it is hypothesised that the presence of this radionuclide is proportional to the length of flight times, and is asymmetrically distributed in flight feathers. Consequently, a significant difference is expected between 210Pb concentrations in feathers of long-distance migrants when compared to sedentary species. For this purpose, a total of 45 samples from eight individuals of three bird species with distinct migratory strategies were analysed: a highly aerial and long-distance migratory species (Common swift Apus apus), and two largely sedentary species widely distributed across Europe (Great tit Parus major and Tawny owl Strix aluco). Novel findings show that the content of 210Pb in bird feathers of adult migratory birds is much higher than in sedentary birds or juvenile individuals, demonstrating this naturally occurring radionuclide can provide information about the contact time between feathers and air. Additionally, 210Pb adsorption was not evenly distributed in bird feathers. The findings provide a new method to trace age and flight time of birds using 210Pb in feathers, complementing conventional techniques in bird migration studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Fraixedas
- Centre de Recerca Ecològica i Aplicacions Forestals (CREAF), Bellaterra (Cerdanyola de Vallès), Catalonia, Spain; Research Centre for Ecological Change (REC), Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Finland.
| | - Alba Riera
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola de Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
| | - Carles Barriocanal
- Grup de Recerca Ambiental Mediterrània (GRAM), Departament de Geografia, Universitat de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Irene Alorda-Montiel
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola de Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
| | - Javier Quesada
- Departament de Vertebrats, Museu de Ciències Naturals de Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Valentí Rodellas
- Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola de Vallès), Catalonia, Spain.
| | - Jordi Garcia-Orellana
- Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA-UAB), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola de Vallès), Catalonia, Spain; Departament de Física, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra (Cerdanyola de Vallès), Catalonia, Spain
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Šujanová A, Václav R. Phylogeographic Patterns of Haemoproteid Assemblages of Selected Avian Hosts: Ecological and Evolutionary Implications. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10051019. [PMID: 35630463 PMCID: PMC9144617 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10051019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: While the dynamics of disease emergence is driven by host–parasite interactions, the structure and dynamics of these interactions are still poorly understood. Here we study the phylogenetic and morphological clustering of haemosporidian parasite lineages in a local avian host community. Subsequently, we examine geographical patterns of parasite assemblages in selected avian hosts breeding in Europe. Methods: We conduct phylogenetic and haplotype network analyses of Haemoproteus (Parahaemoproteus) lineages based on a short and an extended cytochrome b barcode region. Ordination analyses are used to examine changes in parasite assemblages with respect to climate type and geography. Results: We reveal relatively low phylogenetic clustering of haemoproteid lineages in a local avian host community and identify a potentially new Haemoproteus morphospecies. Further, we find that climate is effectively capturing geographical changes in parasite assemblages in selected widespread avian hosts. Moreover, parasite assemblages are found to vary distinctly across the host’s breeding range, even within a single avian host. Conclusions: This study suggests that a few keystone hosts can be important for the local phylogenetic and morphological clustering of haemoproteid parasites. Host spatio-temporal dynamics, both for partially and long-distance migratory birds, appear to explain geographical variation in haemoproteid parasite assemblages. This study also gives support to the idea that climate variation in terms of rainfall seasonality can be linked to the propensity for host switching in haemosporidians.
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Differential Long-Term Population Responses of Two Closely Related Human-Associated Sparrow Species with Respect to Urbanization. BIRDS 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/birds2030017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Urban planning and management need long-term population level studies for evaluating how urbanization influences biodiversity. Firstly, we reviewed the current population trends of the House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) and the Eurasian Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) in Europe, and evaluated the usefulness of citizens’ science projects to monitor these species in Finland. Secondly, we conducted a long-term (1991–2020) winter field study in 31 urban settlements along a 950 km north–south extent in Finland to study how latitude, weather and urbanization influence on sparrow’s growth rates. The House Sparrow is declining in 15 countries, and increasing in 5, whereas the Eurasian Tree Sparrow is declining in 12 and increasing in 9 European countries. The trend of the House Sparrow was significantly negative in continental Europe. However, the trend of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow was not significant. Both species have declined simultaneously in six countries, whereas in four countries, their trends are opposite. Citizen-based, long-term (2006–2020) winter season project data indicated that House Sparrow has decreased, whereas Eurasian Tree Sparrow has increased in Finland. However, the short-term (2013–2020) breeding season citizen-based project data did not indicate significant changes in the occupation rate of sparrows. Our long-term (1991–2020) field study indicated that wintering populations of the House Sparrow have decreased, whereas the Eurasian Tree Sparrows have both expanded their wintering range and increased their population size. Based on our winter count data, latitude and weather did not significantly influence the growth rates of sparrows. When the human population increased within the study plot, House Sparrow populations decreased, and vice versa. There was also a trend that a decreasing number of feeding sites has decreased the House Sparrow numbers. Urban-related factors did not influence the growth rate of the Eurasian Tree Sparrow. Our results indicate that the colonization of a new, even closely related species does not influence negatively on earlier urbanized species. It is probable that the niches of these sparrow species are different enough for allowing them to co-occur. The House Sparrow mainly nests on buildings, whereas the Eurasian Tree Sparrow can easily accept, e.g., nest boxes. Urban planning should take care of both the food availability and nest sites availability for both sparrow species.
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Latimer CE, Zuckerberg B. How extreme is extreme? Demographic approaches inform the occurrence and ecological relevance of extreme events. ECOL MONOGR 2019. [DOI: 10.1002/ecm.1385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E. Latimer
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology University of Wisconsin‐Madison Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
- The Nature Conservancy, Global Conservation Lands Fort Collins Colorado 80524 USA
| | - Benjamin Zuckerberg
- Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology University of Wisconsin‐Madison Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
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