Accumulation and effects of Cd, Pb and Zn in blackbirds (Turdus merula) along a heavy metal pollution gradient.

Biodisponibilité et transfert d'éléments traces métalliques dans les réseaux trophiques terrestres.

National audience

Influence of landscape composition and diversity on contaminant flux in terrestrial food webs: a case study of trace metal transfer to European blackbirds Turdus merula.

13 pages; International audience; Although understanding the influence of the spatial arrangement of habitats and interacting communities on the processes of pollutant flux and impacts is critical for exposure and risk assessment, to date few studies have been devoted to this emergent topic. We tested the hypothesis that landscape composition and diversity affect the transfer of trace metals to vertebrates. Bioaccumulation of Cd and Pb in blood and feathers of European blackbirds Turdus merula (n=138) was studied over a smelter-impacted area (Northern France). Landscape composition (type and occurrence of the different habitats) and diversity (number of different habitat types and the propo…