RT Journal Article
T1 Effects of sex and sampling site on the relative proportion of pesticides in uropygial gland secretions of European Blackbirds (<i>Turdus merula</i>)
A1 Díez Fernández, Alazne
A1 Martín, José
A1 Martínez De la Puente, Josué
A1 Gangoso De La Colina, Laura Esther
A1 López, Pilar
A1 Soriguer, Ramón
A1 Figuerola, Jordi
AB Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is a pesticide that was commonly used for decades worldwide. The use of DDT was banned in the 1970s and 1980s in Europe because of its high toxicity and persistence in the environment, bioaccumulation in living organisms and biomagnification through food webs. However, monitoring using both invasive and non-invasive methods has routinely reported the occurrence of DDT metabolites such as dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) in wild birds, providing valuable information about the exposure to pesticides and potential differences between species and over time. Here, we analysed the relative proportion of DDE in the uropygial gland secretions of European Blackbirds Turdus merula from two localities in southern Spain. Given the negative effects of this pollutant on animal immunity, we also tested for associations between the prevalence of haemosporidians and the relative proportion of DDE in their secretions. Relative proportions of DDE varied between sampling sites and were higher in females than in males, regardless of their age. In spite of the potential immunosuppressive effect of DDE, haemosporidian infection was not associated with DDE presence.
PB John Wiley & Sons / British Ornithologists' Union
SN 0019-1019
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/110851
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/110851
LA eng
NO Díez-Fernández, A., Martín, J., Martínez-de la Puente, J., Gangoso, L., López, P., Soriguer, R. and Figuerola, J. (2023), Effects of sex and sampling site on the relative proportion of pesticides in uropygial gland secretions of European Blackbirds (Turdus merula). Ibis, 165: 142-152. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.13116
NO This study was funded by project P11-RNM-7038 from the Junta de Andalucía and projects CGL2015-65055-P and PGC2018-095704-B-I00 from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Regional Development Fund (FEDER). A.D.F. was supported by a Severo-Ochoa grant from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SVP-2014-068571). L.G. was supported by a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship from the European Commission (grant number 747729, EcoEvoClim).
NO Junta de Andalucía
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
NO European Commission
NO Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
DS Docta Complutense
RD 6 abr 2025