DOI: 10.5061/dryad.m0cfxppf5
title: Data from: Feather trace element profiles in urban mountain chickadees differ from adjacent rural chickadees

description: Worldwide, urbanization has transformed natural habitats and introduced a
 range of threats to the species living therein, including exposure to
 trace elements, including heavy metals. In interior British Columbia,
 Mountain Chickadees (Poecile gambeli) live and breed in both rural and
 urban habitats. We asked whether trace element concentrations (Be, Mg, Al,
 V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Ba, Hg, Tl, Pb, and U) in
 the feathers of urban-dwelling chickadees differed from their rural
 counterparts and, if so, whether the concentrations of trace elements
 differed by sex or were associated with body size/condition or
 reproduction. Zn, Mg, Al, Ba, and Sb were all found in higher
 concentrations in the feathers of urban birds. In contrast, Be, V, Cu, and
 Se were found in lower concentrations in urban birds. Unlike other
 studies, we did not find differences in Pb, U, or Cd between rural and
 urban birds. We found no differences between sexes; however, birds with
 longer tarsi had higher levels of Sb, while birds in better condition
 (mass/tarsus) had lower concentrations of Be, Zn, and Se and higher
 concentrations of Ba and U. In addition, females with earlier first egg
 dates had higher concentrations of Sb and lower concentrations of Zn. Pb
 was marginally negatively associated with the number of eggs and
 fledglings. Despite being separated by short distances (&lt;5km), our
 results indicate distinct differences in feather trace element profiles
 between urban and rural nesting mountain chickadees and indicate that
 future work on the role of Pb and Zn on the physiology and reproduction of
 urban mountain chickadees may be warranted.
description: Combination of field data (age, sex, morphometrics, breeding
 success) and trace element concentrations.
description: # Data from: Feather trace element profiles in urban mountain chickadees
 differ from adjacent rural chickadees
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m0cfxppf5](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m0cfxppf5) ## Description of the data and file structure Data from this study include field data on mountain chickadees (*Poecile gambeli*) collected during the 2018, 2019, and 2021 field seasons, including age, sex, morphology, and reproductive data. Feather trace element concentrations are also provided for each individual. ### Files and variables #### File: Reudink\_et\_al\_Dryad.csv **Description:**  ##### Variables * Year: year of data collection * NestID: ID of nest box * Sex: M (male) or F (female) * Age: After Second Year (ASY) or Second Year (SY) or n/a when ageing was unreliable * Area: U (Urban) or R (Rural) * tarsus.length: tarsus length in mm * bird.weight: bird mass in g * julien.first.egg: number of days after Jan 1 that the first egg was laid * number.of.eggs: number of eggs laid * number.hatched: number of eggs that successfully hatched * number.fledged: number of nestlings that successfully fledged * Condition: mass/tarsus * be: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * mg: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * al: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * v: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * cr: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * mn: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * co: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * cu: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * zn: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * as: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * se: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * mo: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * ag: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * cd: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * sb: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * ba: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * hg: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * tl: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * pb: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * u: concentration of trace element in ng/mg * n/a values in morphometric data appeared when we were unable to attain those data