Abstract
Aluminum leached from granitic rocks by acidic precipitation has been implicated as a cause of reproductive failure in insectivorous passeriformes. Aluminum in emerging aquatic insects has been linked to elevated skeletal Al and reproductive failure in Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca nesting near an acidified Swedish lake. In this study, Al impaired reproduction in Japanese quail Coturnix coturnix japonica at concentrations below those observed in aquatic insects emerging from that lake. Aluminum citrate was added to the diet of 65-day-old quail to obtain dietary Al concentrations of 120, 500, 1500 ppm at the onset of medullary bone formation and was continued for a period of three weeks after the onset of laying. Two basal diets containing differing concentrations of Ca and P were used. None of the diets was acutely toxic but the addition of Al significantly influenced eggshell thickness. Increasing dietary Ca and P was found to mitigate this effect.
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Wolff, B.G., Phillips, R.E. Effects of dietary aluminum on reproduction in Japanese quail Coturnix coturnix japonica . Water Air Soil Pollut 50, 293–299 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00280630
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00280630