ArticleEcotoxicology (London, England)2016
Trace metals, melanin-based pigmentation and their interaction influence immune parameters in feral pigeons (Columba livia).
Article in Ecotoxicology (London, England), 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Feather macrostructure is marginally correlated with temperature range but not urbanization across California.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Crossed effects of helminth infection and lead exposure on fitness: An experimental study in feral pigeons (Columba livia).The Journal of animal ecology · 2024Article
- Microsatellite Instability Assay as a Potential Approach to Evaluate Genotoxicity: Lead Exposure in a Nestling Passerine Bird at the Stage of Intensive Erythropoiesis.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Replicated, urban-driven exposure to metallic trace elements in two passerines.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Pigeon odor varies with experimental exposure to trace metal pollution.Ecotoxicology (London, England) · 2019Article
- Effects of experimental lead exposure on physiological indices of nestling great titsConservation physiology · 2019Article
- Melanin-based coloration and host-parasite interactions under global change.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2018Review
- Reviewing the effects of food provisioning on wildlife immunity.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2018Review
- Urban driven phenotypic changes: empirical observations and theoretical implications for eco-evolutionary feedback.Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Understanding the effects of trace metals emitted by anthropogenic activities on wildlife is of great concern in urban ecology; yet, information on how they affect individuals, populations, communities and ecosystems remains scarce. In particular, trace metals may impact survival by altering the immune system response to parasites. Plumage melanin is assumed to influence the effects of trace metals on immunity owing to its ability to bind metal ions in feathers and its synthesis being coded by a pleiotropic gene. We thus hypothesized that trace metal exposure would interact with plumage colouration in shaping immune response. We experimentally investigated the interactive effect between exposure to an environmentally relevant range of zinc and/or lead and melanin-based plumage colouration on components of the immune system in feral pigeons (Columba livia). We found that zinc increased anti-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) IgY primary response maintenance, buffered the negative effect of lead on anti-KLH IgY secondary response maintenance and tended to increase T-cell mediated phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) skin response. Lead decreased the peak of the anti-KLH IgY secondary response. In addition, pheomelanic pigeons exhibited a higher secondary anti-KLH IgY response than did eumelanic ones. Finally, T-cell mediated PHA skin response decreased with increasing plumage eumelanin level of birds exposed to lead. Neither treatments nor plumage colouration correlated with endoparasite intensity. Overall, our study points out the effects of trace metals on some parameters of birds' immunity, independently from other confounding urbanization factors, and underlines the need to investigate their impacts on other life history traits and their consequences in the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions.
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