Carotenoid diet and nestling provisioning in urban and rural great tits Parus major

Isaksson, Caroline; Andersson, Staffan

doi:10.1111/j.0908-8857.2007.04030.x

Cited by 121 publications

(123 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…These food sources can reduce winter mortality caused by starvation and possibly predation (Jansson et al, 1981;Hole et al, 2002;Perkins et al, 2007). However, artificial food might also impact fitness negatively by causing deficiency of essential micro-and macro-nutrients (Isaksson and Andersson, 2007;Plummer et al, 2013;Isaksson, 2015). This could be exacerbated by the presumably poorer quality of natural food in the urban habitat.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reliance on (exploiters), or high intake of (adapters), human-provided food may therefore further reduce individual health and reproductive success in urban birds. Moreover, natural food sources in urban areas can also be of poorer quality than those in rural areas, which contributes to the lower availability of important macro-and micro-nutrients in cities (Isaksson and Andersson, 2007;Møller et al, 2010;Andersson et al, 2015;Isaksson et al, 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Species-Dependent Effects of the Urban Environment on Fatty Acid Composition and Oxidative Stress in Birds

et al. 2017

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Ecological impacts of urbanization include the loss of biodiversity and changes in species composition and population densities. However, how the urban environment affects fundamental physiological parameters is largely unknown. Here, we investigated physiological components related to health and nutrition, namely, plasma fatty acids (FA) and lipid peroxidation at inter-habitat and interspecific levels. Specifically, we compared four passerine bird species-the great tit (Parus major), the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), and the tree sparrow (P. montanus)-from urban and rural environments. Significant interactions between species and habitat were revealed for the majority of the FAs. Interestingly, the observed inter-habitat variation in FAs was frequently in opposite directions when comparing species from the two families (tits, Paridae; sparrows, Passeridae). These patterns suggest that sparrows and tits feed on different food sources, or modulate their FA metabolism differently, across the urban-rural gradient. By using canonical discriminant analyses (CDA), we further demonstrated species-specific signals in FA composition, with misclassification of species being <1% within habitats and <7% between habitats. Finally, the urban-rural FA differences between species and families were manifested in two indices of health. Firstly, urban blue tits had a higher total ω-6/ω-3 polyunsaturated FA ratio than rural conspecifics, which is believed to increase inflammatory responses. Secondly, urban sparrows of both species showed higher lipid peroxidation indices (indicating a higher susceptibility to lipid peroxidation if exposed to pro-oxidants), and consequently, a higher level of lipid peroxidation compared to their rural conspecifics. Collectively, the speciesand habitat-specific differences in plasma FA composition, which are linked to nutrition and metabolism, suggest that the urban environment affect tits and sparrows primarily via two different pathways-inflammation and oxidative stress, respectively,-with potential consequences for the health of urban populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Species-Dependent Effects of the Urban Environment on Fatty Acid Composition and Oxidative Stress in Birds

et al. 2017

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“…Therefore, caterpillars feeding on them would also be of lower quality (Isaksson & Andersson, 2007). This explanation, however, is not always reflected in studies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Isaksson and Andersson (2007) found that caterpillars living in the urban environment were more abundant and heavier in comparison with the rural population, although they also contained less carotenoids in their bodies. Chicks from urban areas were fed approximately twice more often by their parents, providing carotenoid availability similar to that of rural nestlings.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biological responses to environmental contamination. How can metal pollution impact signal honesty in avian species?

Pacyna

Ruman

Mazerski

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Environmental pollution, for example with metals, can significantly affect the ecosystem balance leading to severe changes. Biologically active pigments are relevant for the appearance and condition of birds. Melanin and carotenoid particles are the most frequently deposited pigments in avian integument. They are responsible for the majority of colors of bird plumage. The phenotypic expression can be affected by metal contamination. It can be manifested as color bleaching or differences in the size of plumage badges. In this study, we performed a comprehensive review of related studies in order to estimate the underlying population effect of this potential dependency. The study is based on the review of the literature regarding several avian species. It was designed to identify an area where the effect of the exposure is still poorly known. The analysis was specifically conducted to investigate the correlation between trace element concentration and eumelanin deposition. Moreover, we searched for factors that could affect spectral properties of feathers with carotenoid‐based pigmentation. As a result, we found carotenoid‐based pigmentation to be of a good use in terms of visual condition assessment. Changes in melanin‐based pattern should be analyzed separately for eu‐ and pheomelanin as well as for a range of essential and toxic elements. Comprehensive studies on the subject are still scarce. Therefore, the issue requires further investigation.

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“…Temperature, predator and parasite communities, artificial noise and light, availability and/or quality of resources, and pollution are among important features that contrast between cities and natural habitat (Collier, 2006;Evans et al, 2009b;Slabbekoorn, 2013). Cities are frequently described as resource-poor habitats for birds during the breeding season, and several works have shown that prey required for chicks are less abundant, smaller and poorer in key nutrients for growth and survival, such as carotenoids (Isaksson and Andersson, 2007;Seress et al, 2012). Those descriptive studies provided some data that allowed the design of experimental supplementation aimed at testing whether the quantity (energy intake) or the quality of resources (e.g., carotenoids) could explain the contrast of breeding performance between urban and non-urban populations (Peach et al, 2014;Giraudeau et al, 2015).…”

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confidence: 99%

Multi-Element Analysis of Blood Samples in a Passerine Species: Excesses and Deficiencies of Trace Elements in an Urbanization Study

et al. 2017

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Urbanization is a growing phenomenon characterized by a complete restructuring of natural areas. In urban bird populations, a reduced offspring survival and body condition and an overall lower breeding success are often observed compared to populations inhabiting more natural habitats. Higher pollution levels and poorer quality of natural resources in cities are two environmental factors frequently mentioned in the literature to explain the differences between urban and non-urban populations. Pollution and poor quality of food may lead to an excess of non-essential elements such as Pb or Cd or to deficiencies of essential elements such as Cu or Zn, which may explain some of the impacts, notably on immunity, observed in urbanization studies. The present study compared the breeding parameters, brood body mass and condition, and haptoglobin levels, a marker of inflammatory immunity, in two urban and two forest populations of Great tits in Eastern France, together with a multi-element analysis (25 non-essential and essential trace elements) of blood samples from 13-day-old nestlings from the four populations. The concentration of NO 2 , a gaseous pollutant typical of urban pollution, was also measured. The NO 2 concentrations were significantly higher in the urban areas, but no association with biological variables was detected. Non-essential metals were undetectable in the plasma of the birds from both habitats, except Pb, whose concentrations, however, did not differ between the urban and forest birds. A positive relationship was found between the plasmatic richness in essential elements (as assessed from the coordinates of the first axis of a PCA including 12 elements) and the average brood body mass and condition. We suggest that lower quality resources or/and a higher metabolic demand may be a causal mechanism for the reduced body condition often observed in urban bird nestlings. Finally, our exploratory study could promote more mechanistic experiments (e.g., supplementation) to explain the negative effect of urban conditions on bird populations.

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Carotenoid diet and nestling provisioning in urban and rural great tits Parus major

Cited by 121 publications

References 47 publications

Species-Dependent Effects of the Urban Environment on Fatty Acid Composition and Oxidative Stress in Birds

Species-Dependent Effects of the Urban Environment on Fatty Acid Composition and Oxidative Stress in Birds

Biological responses to environmental contamination. How can metal pollution impact signal honesty in avian species?

Multi-Element Analysis of Blood Samples in a Passerine Species: Excesses and Deficiencies of Trace Elements in an Urbanization Study

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