Elemental composition in feathers of a migratory passerine for differentiation of sex, age, and molting areas

Abstract

AcknowledgmentsThe authors would like to thank Tamás Weiszburg for the SEM/BSE measurements performed at the Department of Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Eötvös Loránd University.The assistance of Tamás Szigeti, MSc and Gergely Tarsoly, MSc provided in the microwaveassisted digestion of feathers is also appreciated. Keywords: breeding, elemental distribution, habitat, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, laser ablation, migratory birds, rare earth elements.3 HighlightsAmong the 38 elements investigated, toxic elements (i.e. Ni, Cd, Hg and Pb) occurred in more than the 55% of the tail feather of the collared flycatchers at the µg/g level.Differentiation between sex, age and molting areas of the collared flycatcher was possible by determination of feather elemental composition.Time-resolved distribution of major elements along the rachis of feathers by laser ablation ICP-SF-MS and normalization of the intensities to 13 C/ 34 S signals.4

Trace elements fingerprint of feathers differs between breeding and non-breeding areas in an Afro-Palearctic migratory bird, the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica)

“…In spite of differences in elemental fingerprint between wintering and breeding areas, no significant difference in the concentration of any element was detected according to sex or to the sex by feather growth location interaction both in multivariate (Table 2 ) and univariate analyses (Table 3 ). These results are consistent with previous studies of different passerine species, including the northern cardinals Cardinalis cardinalis and the great crested flycatchers Myiarchus crinitus (Cooper et al 2017 ), the collared flycatcher (Óvári et al 2018 ) and the Italian sparrow (Innangi et al 2019 ), reporting that sex-specific differences were not observed for different trace elements accumulated in feathers. The lack of sex-specific differences in the elemental fingerprint of barn swallow feathers suggests that the bioaccumulation rates of trace elements are consistent between both the sexes (Cooper et al 2017 ), probably because males and females use the habitats and exploit the same diet in both wintering and breeding areas (Møller 1994 ; Turner 2006 ; Liechti et al 2015 ).…”

“…The average concentration of trace elements accumulated in tail feathers of barn swallows decreased as follows: Al > Fe > Zn > Cu > Mn > Ni > Pb > Hg > Se > Cr > As > Cd. The levels and the elemental fingerprint observed in the present study were similar to those measured in feathers of diverse passerine species breeding in other geographical areas, including great tits Parus major from Belgium (Veerle et al 2004 ), collared flycatchers from Hungary (Óvári et al 2018 ), sand martins from different European breeding areas (Vallner et al 2000 ,; Szép et al 2003 ) and Italian sparrows Passer italiae from southern Italy (Innangi et al 2019 ), while they differed compared to those measured in tail feathers collected from house sparrows Passer domesticus living in southern Africa (Baker et al 2017 ). The toxic elements included in the priority list of contaminants of 2013/39/EU directive for surface water, namely Cd, Hg, Ni and Pb, were above the detection limit in all samples, with the exception of Cd.…”

“…The toxic elements included in the priority list of contaminants of 2013/39/EU directive for surface water, namely Cd, Hg, Ni and Pb, were above the detection limit in all samples, with the exception of Cd. As reported for other elements, the levels of Hg, Ni and Pb were similar to those reported for feathers of song sparrows Melospiza melodia from upper Santa Cruz River in Arizona (Lester and van Riper 2014 ), collared flycatchers from Hungary (Óvári et al 2018 ) and cattle egrets Bubulcus ibis from Pakistan (Abdullah et al 2015 ).…”

“…Although a number of studies have monitored the levels of trace elements using feathers of resident bird species, the information for migratory species is still limited. To date, the levels of trace elements were measured in tail feathers of two insectivorous and long-distance migratory bird species, the sand martin Riparia riparia (Szép et al 2003 , 2009 ) and the barn swallow Hirundo rustica (Szép et al 2009 ) in order to identify moulting areas and migratory pathways, as well as in feathers of the collared flycatcher Ficedula albicollis (Óvári et al 2018 ) and the great crested flycatchers Myiarchus crinitus (Cooper et al 2017 ).…”

Inter-dialect dispersal is common in the Puget Sound white-crowned sparrow

“…Here we apply a different technique to estimate dispersal among dialects: comparison of the trace element composition of feathers. This method has been used to track movements in several species of birds (Kelsall & Burton, 1979;Szép et al, 2003;Donovan et al, 2006;Gómez-Díaz & González-Solís, 2007;Norris et al, 2007;Óvári et al, 2016). Trace elements differ from stable isotopes in that they do not vary in a predictable pattern across the landscape, but depend on local features (Adout et al, 2007).…”