Conservation Value of
Feathers
1.
2.
3.
As a hammer (1886 George Bird Grinnell
and Women against plume hunters)
Molting demands conservation of
stopover sites
Feathers as indicators of ecosystem
health
Feathers Assess Organochloride
Pollutants in White-tailed Sea Eagles
(photo.net)
(Jaspers et al. 2011)
PCBs, DDE, BDEs
Body Feathers work well as assay tools
Conclusions
• Different concentrations of substances
were affected by pattern of molt, so need
to know how long a feather has been
exposed to environment and preening
Pigeon Feathers Assess Metals in
Urban Settings
Brazil
Adsorbed from environment (Lead,
Chromium, Cadmium)
or from food (Copper, Iron,
Manganese, Zinc)
(Henrique et al. 2011)
High
Concentration of
Metals in Urban
Sites Relative to
Less Urban Sites
Ptilochronology
• Feathers grow during day and night
• During day as bird eat more pigment is
deposited in growing feather and a dark bar
results
• During night as birds roost less pigment is
deposited resulting in a lighter bar
• Alternating light and dark bars represent a 24
hour period of feather growth—wider bar
indicates better nutrition as the feather grows
more in 24hours
Correlate with Reproduction and
Survival
Styan’s Grasshopper Warbler
(Takaki et al. 2001)
Extreme “Fault Bars”
• Low
nutrition,
poor habitat,
indicators of
environment
al stress
References
• Jaspers, V.L.B. et al. 2011. Body feathers as a potential new
biomonitoring tool in raptors: A study on organohalogenated
contaminants in different feather types and preen oil of West
Greenland white-tailed eagles. Environment International 37:13491356.
• Brait, C. H. H. and Filho, N. R. A. 2011. Use of feathers of feral
pigeons as a technique for metal quantification and environmental
monitoring. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 179:457467.
• Harmata, A. R. 2011. Environmental contaminants in tissues of Bald
Eagles sampled in southwestern Montana, 2006-2008. Journal of
Raptor Research 45:119-135.
• Clarkson, C.E. 2011. Applicability of ptilochronology as a
conservation tool in waterbird studies. Ecological Indicators 11:17071709.
• Grubb, T. C. Jr. 1989. Ptilochronology: feather growth bars as
indicators of nutritional status. Auk 106:314-320.