An Important Personality Trait Varies with Blood and Plumage Metal Concentrations in a Free-Living Songbird.

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ID: 24947
2019
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Abstract
Metal pollution is a global problem, which threatens to seriously disrupt behavioral patterns and health in humans and wildlife. Nonetheless, little is known regarding how exposure to metal pollution affects animal personalities, as defined by repeatable among individual differences in behavior. We used a large dataset to investigate the relationship between individual blood and feather metal concentrations and three personality traits (exploration behavior, territorial aggressiveness, and aggressiveness during nest defense) in great tits (), a model species for animal personality research. We previously demonstrated slower exploration behavior at highly polluted study sites, where exposure to lead, cadmium, and arsenic is high. Here, we demonstrate the across-year repeatability of exploration behavior and aggressiveness during nest defense, providing strong evidence for the existence of personalities in our populations. Furthermore, we demonstrate that individuals with high blood lead concentrations and high concentrations of multiple metals in the feathers exhibit slower exploration behavior but no differences in territorial aggressiveness or nest defense relative to less exposed birds. The mechanism underlying the relationship between metal exposure and exploration behavior remains to be determined but could involve neurotoxic effects. Our study highlights that metal pollution could have underappreciated effects on animal personalities, with implications for individual fitness and societal function.
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grunst2019anenvironmental Use this key to autocite in the manuscript while using SciMatic Manuscript Manager or Thesis Manager
Authors Grunst, Andrea S;Grunst, Melissa L;Daem, Natasha;Pinxten, Rianne;Bervoets, Lieven;Eens, Marcel;
Journal Environmental science & technology
Year 2019
DOI
10.1021/acs.est.9b03548
URL
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