Exposure to Pb impairs breeding success and is associated with longer lifespan in urban European blackbirds.

ABSTRACT: Although several factors have been highlighted to explain the influence of urbanization on bird fitness and survival, the role of persistent toxicants such as lead (Pb), which is typically present in urban areas worldwide, has seldom been studied despite the ecological importance of such a widespread stressor. Studying free-living European blackbirds (Turdus merula) in city parks, we tested the hypothesis that low-dose chronic exposure to Pb could shape the life-history traits of urban birds. The feather concentrations of Pb and cadmium were typical of urban areas and low-to-moderate contamination of sites. Although the lifetime breeding success of females decreased with increasing exposure to Pb, the lifespan and survival probabilities of blackbirds increased with Pb contamination regardl

SUBMITTER: Fritsch C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6345771 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature