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Authors = Rachael Sarnowski

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11 pages, 721 KiB  
Brief Report
Concentrations of Manganese in Tufted Titmouse Feathers near Metal Processing Plants
by Rachael Sarnowski and James S. Kellam
Birds 2023, 4(1), 148-158; https://doi.org/10.3390/birds4010012 - 22 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4641
Abstract
Human industry and land use has led to the anthropogenic release of manganese (Mn) into the air and soil near manufacturing centers. Overexposure to Mn can cause considerable health problems in birds. We studied whether the concentration of Mn in bird feathers correlates [...] Read more.
Human industry and land use has led to the anthropogenic release of manganese (Mn) into the air and soil near manufacturing centers. Overexposure to Mn can cause considerable health problems in birds. We studied whether the concentration of Mn in bird feathers correlates with the distance to point sources of Mn air emissions. Feathers were collected from Tufted Titmice (Baeolophus bicolor) at two sites in western Pennsylvania, USA. One site was in proximity (0.3 km) to a steel plant with documented Mn releases, and the other site was in a different town about 4.0 km away from other steel plants with documented Mn releases. Using the microwave plasma–atomic emission spectrometer (MP–AES), we found that tail feathers collected from nearest to a steel plant had a significantly higher concentration of Mn compared to the samples from the site further from the emission source. A body mass index was calculated for each set of birds; however, the indices did not vary significantly. This is the first published study of Mn sequestration in Tufted Titmouse feathers. This study develops our general understanding of the potential use of bird feathers as non-invasive bioindicators of environmental metal exposure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Feature Papers of Birds 2022–2023)
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