title: Spatial and temporal variation of lead, cadmium, and zinc in feathers of great tit and blue tit nestlings in Central Poland.
abstract: In this study, we examined heavy-metal concentrations in feathers of nestling great tits Parus major and blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus at two different sites (urban parkland vs. deciduous forest) located in the Łódź agglomeration in relation to interyear variation. We found that tit species did not differ significantly in lead and cadmium concentrations. Zinc concentration was significantly higher in blue tits. We also found that lead and cadmium levels in blue tit nestlings and the level of lead in great tit nestlings were higher in the parkland site than in the woodland site. We explain habitat variation in heavy-metal concentrations in feathers of nestlings by different levels of contamination at study sites. For both tit species, significant variation in heavy-metal amounts accumulated by nestlings was found between years with the lowest value in a year with the lowest value of rainfall. We suggest that the interyear variation may be accounted for by differences in rainfall, thus influencing quantities of trace elements bioavailable in the environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Zoology and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Łódź, Banacha 12/16, 90-237, Lodz, Poland, mmarko@biol.uni.lodz.pl.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Markowski
authors.forename: Mirosława
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bańbura
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaliński
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Markowski
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Skwarska
authors.forename: Jarosław
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wawrzyniak
authors.forename: Piotr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zieliński
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bańbura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry*; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D046109:Passeriformes / Q000378:metabolism*; D011044:Poland; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D015032:Zinc / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead; D015032:Zinc