Use of trace elements in feathers of sand martinRiparia ripariafor identifying moulting areas

Abstract

We investigated whether trace elements in tail feathers of an insectivorous and long‐distance migratory bird species could be used to identify moulting areas and hence migratory pathways. We analysed tail feathers from birds of different age and sex collected from a range of different breeding sites across Europe. The site of moult had a large effect on elemental composition of feathers of birds, both at the European and African moulting sites. Analysis of feathers of nestlings with known origin suggested that the elemental composition of feathers depended largely upon the micro‐geographical location of the colony. The distance between moulting areas could not explain the level of differences in trace elements. Analysis of feathers grown by the same individuals on the African wintering grounds and in the following breeding season in Europe showed a large difference in composition indicating that moulting site affects elemental composition. Tail feathers moulted in winter in Africa by adults breeding in different European regions differed markedly in elemental composition, indicating that they used different moulting areas. Analysis of tail feathers of the same adult individuals in two consecutive years showed that sand martins in their first and second wintering season grew feathers with largely similar elemental composition, although the amounts of several elements in tail feathers of the older birds was lower. There was no difference between the sexes in the elemental composition of their feathers grown in Africa. Investigation of the trace element composition of feathers could be a useful method for studying similarity among groups of individuals in their use of moulting areas.

Trophic Transfer of Trace Elements in an Isotopically Constructed Food Chain From a Semi-enclosed Marine Coastal Area (Stagnone di Marsala, Sicily, Mediterranean)

“…The required biomass for both isotopic and trace element analysis was obtained for only a few taxa as follows: among the crustaceans, the amphipods Feathers were identified as belonging to grey heron (Ardea cinerea L. 1758), yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis Naumann 1840), and great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo L. 1758). They were vigorously washed with Milli-Q deionized water to remove any external contamination and, exclusively for trace element determination, also washed with acetone and then with Milli-Q deionized water by ultrasonic treatment (44 kHz, 1 min) according to Eeva et al (2006) and Szép et al (2003).…”

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

“…The elemental profile of a feather may reveal information on the geographic origin of a bird provided that there are elemental differences between molting areas. Factors such as age, sex, species, metabolism and molting locations were demonstrated to influence the trace element composition in feathers (Bortolotti and Barlow 1988;Bortolotti et al 1990;Boncompagni et al 2003;Szép et al 2003;Donovan et al 2006). The stable isotope composition mainly differs on continental or regional habitat scale (Hobson 2005).…”

“…During their period of growth, feathers are connected to blood-vessels, and the metals supplied by food may be built into the feather keratin. Once developed, feathers become metabolically inert; therefore, they reflect the composition of regional food (Szép et al 2003;Donovan et al 2006;Norris et al 2007). …”

“…Several analytical techniques have been used to determine elemental concentrations in feathers such as flame, graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (Markowski et al 2013), cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV-AAS) for Hg (Carvalho et al 2013;Carravieri et al 2014;Mashroofeh et al 2015), inductively coupled plasma optical emission (Szép et al 2003;Donovan et al 2006;Szép et al 2009) or inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) (Adout et al 2007;Norris et al 2007;Rubio et al 2016) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (Haskins et al 2011). All these techniques require sample digestion or dissolution prior to the analysis.…”

“…The use of trace elements to establish migratory connectivity of birds is limited to a few studies (Parrish et al 1983;Szép et al 2003;Donovan et al 2006;Norris et al 2007). As a model for our study, we have chosen the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) ( Figure 1S, online resources), a long-distance migratory, hole-nesting, insectivorous passerine that breeds mainly in deciduous woodlands of Central Europe and it winters in sub-Saharan Africa (Cramp andPerrins 1993, Hölzinger 1993;Adamík et al 2016).…”