Effects of dietary aluminum sulphate on reproductive success and growth of Ringed Turtle-Doves (Streptopelia risoria)

Abstract

Elevated levels of aluminum have been reported in surface waters and in certain aquatic organisms including aquatic insects. Toxic effects have been demonstrated in fish and it has been suggested that aluminum affects avian reproduction. In this study Ringed Turtle-Doves were assigned to a control group fed a diet reduced in calcium and phosphorus and to a treated group fed the same diet supplemented with 0.1% aluminum. A 4-month feeding period with aluminum sulphate did not result in any effect on egg production, fertility, or hatchability. Egg permeability was decreased initially but subsequently recovered to a normal level. Dietary aluminum sulphate did not affect plasma calcium, phosphorus, or magnesium of adults nor did it affect the pattern of growth and the final weight of chicks feeding on the same diet. Bone aluminum levels of breeding females averaged twice those of the controls (P < 0.05). The pattern of accumulation between the two sexes was significantly different (P < 0.05). Growth of juvenile Ringed Turtle-Doves was not affected by dietary levels of aluminum sulphate up to 1500 ppm, although aluminum tended to accumulate in the bones of the sternum. No significant influence of aluminum on reproduction or growth, at levels similar to those likely to occur in the environment, could be found in the course of our laboratory experiment.

Food-chain chemistry, reproductive success, and foraging behaviour of songbirds in acidified maple forests of central Ontario

“…Most of the calcium required for eggshell formation appears to be taken up in the 24 h prior to egg laying (Graveland et al 1994), and we hypothesized that clutch sizes of black-capped chickadees might be reduced at the declining site, whereas clutch sizes for the warbler (which ingests calcium outside of the sugar maple forest) would not. In addition, aluminum toxicity resulting from calcium depletion (Carrikre et al 1986;Sparling 1990;Scheuhammer 1991) could also reduce brood size in the chickadee. We also hypothesized a reduction in the use of the canopy by both bird species in response to foliage dieback in the declining forest, and we tested this by observing foraging locations of chickadees in both forests.…”

Effects of Acidification on Metal Accumulation by Aquatic Plants and Invertebrates. 1. Constructed Wetlands

“…Calcium concentrations in insects (460-5,700 pg/g) were well below the concentration of Ca in turkey starter feed (15,100 pg/g) [30] and reducedcalcium Pigeon Chow@ (Ralston Purina Co., St. Louis, MO) (6,000 pg/g) [31], and even below the minimum amount of dietary Ca (5,000 ppm) considered necessary for hatchling ducks [52]. Phosphorus was slightly low compared to turkey starter feed (4,800-15,000 vs. 13,500 pg/g) [30].…”

Effect of high aluminum consumption on mechanics and composition of furculae of free‐ranging coots

“…The concentration of Al in the food of the coots in San Francisco Bay ranged from 0.06 to 0.43%, with a mean of 0.24%. This concentration is more than twice the concentration of 0.1% that has been shown to result in doubling the Al density in the bones of female ringed turtle‐doves ( Streptopelia risoria ) compared to males [24]. The diet of the doves contained Al during and after the egg‐laying period, when the bones are being remodeled subsequent to the transfer of Ca to the eggshells.…”

“…At Al:P ratios greater than 0.5:1, Al has been reported to bind with all available P while both are in the digestive tract, thereby blocking P absorption and facilitating Al absorption [8]. Because the Al:P molar ratio in the ingesta was so much greater than 0.5:1 (range = 1.7:1‐14.4:1), bone concentrations of Al of 11.1 μg/g in these coots appear to be disproportionately low, less than twice the 6.6 μg/g in the controls of a ringed turtle‐dove study [24]. The proportionately low Al absorption may be partly due to the very high Ca concentrations in the food with Ca:Al molar ratios averaging 23.5:1.…”