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Sex-associated differences in trace metals concentrations in and on the plumage of a common urban bird species

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Abstract

Urban areas encompass both favorable and stressful conditions linked with human activities and pollution. Pollutants remain of major ecological importance for synanthropic organisms living in the city. Plumage of urban birds harbour trace metals, which can result from external deposition or from internal accumulation. External and internal plumage concentrations likely differ between specific trace metals, and may further differ between males and females because of potential sex-linked differential urban use, physiology or behaviour. Here, we measured the concentrations in four trace metals (cadmium, copper, lead and zinc) in both unwashed and washed feathers of 49 male and 38 female feral pigeons (Columba livia) from Parisian agglomeration. We found that these concentrations indeed differed between unwashed and washed feathers, between males and females, and for some metals depended on the interaction between these factors. We discuss these results in the light of physiological and behavioural differences between males and females and of spatial repartition of the four trace metals in the city.

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Acknowledgments

We thank two anonymous referees for their useful comments on the original version of the manuscript. We thank Emmanuel Aubry, Maryse Castrec-Rouelle, Marie-Anne Pottier, Lorenzo Ricci, Battle Karimi and Audrey Foubert for their help in trace metal measurements, as well as Ahmed Belguermi and Philippe Lenouvel for help in feather sampling. We are grateful to Anne-Caroline Prévot-Julliard, to the scientific network “Le pigeon en ville”, to the AERHO association, to the ESPACES association and to the “Mairie de Paris” (Thomas Charachon) for providing logistic support during the field work. All experiments were conducted under the authorization of the “Direction Départementale des Services Vétérinaires de Seine-et-Marne” (Authorization No. 77-07).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UPEC, Paris 7, CNRS, INRA, IRD, Institut d’Ecologie et des Sciences de l’Environnement de Paris, 7, quai St Bernard, 75005, Paris, France

    Adrien Frantz, Pierre Federici, Julie Legoupi, Lisa Jacquin & Julien Gasparini

  2. Univ. Toulouse 3 Paul Sabatier, CNRS, ENFA, UMR 5174 EDB (Laboratoire Evolution and Diversité Biologique), 31062, Toulouse, France

    Lisa Jacquin

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  1. Adrien Frantz
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  2. Pierre Federici
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  4. Lisa Jacquin
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Correspondence to Adrien Frantz.

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Funding was provided by the Université Pierre et Marie Curie (FR) and the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR). None of my funders had any influence on the content of the submitted or published manuscript. None of my funders require approval of the final manuscript to be published.

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Frantz, A., Federici, P., Legoupi, J. et al. Sex-associated differences in trace metals concentrations in and on the plumage of a common urban bird species. Ecotoxicology 25, 22–29 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1562-1

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