ArticleBiology letters2014
The adaptive function of melanin-based plumage coloration to trace metals.
Article in Biology letters, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 108 citations in OpenAlex.
- Trace element accumulation in hooded crow nestlings: tissue- and age-specific patterns and implications for avian biomonitoring in riverine wetlands.Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2026Article
- Habitat Fragmentation in Urbanized Landscapes Favors Bird Species With Darker Plumage.Ecology and evolution · 2026Article
- Feather macrostructure is marginally correlated with temperature range but not urbanization across California.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Adaptation in the Alleyways: Candidate Genes Under Potential Selection in Urban Coyotes.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Environmental and social correlates of the plumage color polymorphism in an urban dweller, feral pigeon (Columba livia f. domestica).Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Crossed effects of helminth infection and lead exposure on fitness: An experimental study in feral pigeons (Columba livia).The Journal of animal ecology · 2024Article
- Promoting New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) for research on skin color changes in response to environmental stress factors: tobacco and air pollution.Frontiers in toxicology · 2023Review
- Pollution of Feral Pigeon (Columba livia) Depends on Their Age and Their Health Status.Biological trace element research · 2022Article
- Replicated, urban-driven exposure to metallic trace elements in two passerines.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Monarch caterpillars are robust to combined exposure to the roadside micronutrients sodium and zinc.Conservation physiology · 2021Article
- Bioreduction of toxicity influenced by bioactive molecules secreted under metal stress by Azotobacter chroococcum.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2019Article
- Pigeon odor varies with experimental exposure to trace metal pollution.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2019Article
- Snail shell colour evolution in urban heat islands detected via citizen science.Communications biology · 2019Article
- Biological responses to environmental contamination. How can metal pollution impact signal honesty in avian species?Ecology and evolution · 2018Review
- Article
- Melanin-based coloration and host-parasite interactions under global change.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2018Review
- Elemental characterisation of melanin in feathers via synchrotron X-ray imaging and absorption spectroscopy.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Trace metals, melanin-based pigmentation and their interaction influence immune parameters in feral pigeons (Columba livia).Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2016Article
- Coloured ornamental traits could be effective and non-invasive indicators of pollution exposure for wildlife.Conservation physiology · 2016Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Trace metals produced by anthropogenic activities are of major importance in urban areas and might constitute a new evolutionary force selecting for the ability to cope with their deleterious effects. Interestingly, melanin pigments are known to bind metal ions, thereby potentially sequestering them in inert body parts such as coat and feathers, and facilitating body detoxification. Thus, a more melanic plumage or coat coloration could bring a selective advantage for animals living in polluted areas. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the link between melanin-based coloration and zinc and lead concentrations in feathers of urban feral pigeons, both at capture time and after one year of captivity in standardized conditions. Results show that differently coloured pigeons had similar metal concentrations at capture time. Metal concentrations strongly decreased after one year in standardized conditions, and more melanic pigeons had higher concentrations of zinc (but not lead) in their feathers. This suggests that more melanic pigeons have a higher ability to store some metals in their feathers compared with their paler counterparts, which could explain their higher success in urbanized areas. Overall, this work suggests that trace metal pollution may exert new selective forces favouring more melanic phenotypes in polluted environments.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.