Air pollution fades the plumage of the Great Tit

Abstract

1. Great Tits (Parus major) derive the carotenoid pigments for their yellow plumage via the prey items in their diet. Air pollution is known to affect the abundance of many forest insects, e.g. green caterpillars, which are an important source of food and pigments for tits. This study investigates whether air pollutants indirectly affected the intensity of the yellow colour in P. major plumage via the reduced access to carotenoid sources. 2. The intensity of the yellow colour in the plumage of P. major nestlings was scored and the relative abundance of green herbivorous larvae in territories around a polluting copper smelter in SW Finland was simultaneously measured. 3. Both the intensity of yellow colour in nestling plumage and caterpillar abundance increased with increasing distance from the pollution source. The colour intensity correlated significantly with the density of green herbivorous larvae in a territory. 4. Parus major nestlings were significantly heavier at distant sites than close to the pollution source which suggests that the future survival probability of pale nestlings may be lowered. 5. Young birds, after their first moult, were studied for the relationships between condition, size and plumage colour by the means of ptilochronology. The plumage colour intensity did not correlate with the size corrected width of the growth bars in fifth rectrix (condition at moult) but was correlated positively with the length of the rectrix (size). 6. The implications of colour change for survival and mate choice are discussed.