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<TITLE>I Know Why The Polluted Bird (Starling) Sings</TITLE>
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<P><A HREF="http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/polluted-bird-song-47022709"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/polluted-bird-song-47022709</FONT></U></A>
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<P><B><FONT SIZE=6 FACE="Times New Roman">I Know Why The Polluted Bird Sings</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Ladies are Love-Struck By Hyper Hormonal Songs of Male Starlings</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Male European starlings that eat polluted worms sing more complex songs that attract more female starlings, in the first study that shows evidence that pollution can help a species reproduce.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">For a generation, scientists have documented the problems that pollution can cause wildlife. Particularly, the many ways that toxic chemicals interrupt, disrupt and prevent wildlife from reproducing has been a key part of research, and it has even been used to argue for strict cleanup standards at polluted sites. The most famous example is probably the bald eagle, the eggs of which were made so brittle by the pesticide DDT that they crumbled under the weight of the birds trying to incubate their brood.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Now, for the first time, scientists have identified how European starlings have greater success mating precisely because of high levels of pollution. It seems that males exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals that mimic female hormones are brain damaged, but in such a way that they can develop longer and more complex songs.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The ladies love it, and so the more polluted starlings get it on more often.</FONT>
<BR><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">“This is the first evidence that environmental pollutants not only affect, but paradoxically enhance a signal of male quality such as song,” said Katherine Buchanan, a Cardiff University scientist and author of the paper, published in the Public Library of Science. “These results may have consequences of population dynamics of an already declining species.”</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Starlings are a species native to Europe introduced to New York's Central Park by a man who wanted all birds mentioned in Shakespeare's plays to live in Central Park. While biologists and bird lovers regret that decision, the bard might have smiled on recent research showing that starlings may be the only species other than humans to use </FONT><A HREF="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/04/060428151356.htm"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">grammar</FONT></U></A><FONT FACE="Times New Roman"> in their impressively complex songs.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The more complex, the better. But the vocal ability enhanced by synthetic and natural estrogens imbibed in polluted earthworms comes at a cost, not only to the birds exposed, but possibly the entire population.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">The immune systems of these birds is also compromised by the pollution, according to the research. And because the birds that both sing well and get sick reproduce more frequently, that means the birds are more likely to produce sickly offspring, potentially affecting the survivability of the entire species.</FONT></P>
<P><B><FONT FACE="Times New Roman">Find this article at:</FONT></B> <A HREF="file:///environmental-news/latest/polluted-bird-song-47022709"><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" FACE="Times New Roman">http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/polluted-bird-song-47022709</FONT></U></A>
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<P><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Deborah L. DeBiasi</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Email: dldebiasi@deq.virginia.gov</FONT></B>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">WEB site address: </FONT><A HREF="file://www.deq.virginia.gov"><U></U><U><FONT COLOR="#0000FF" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">www.deq.virginia.gov</FONT></U></A>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Office of Water Permit Programs</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Industrial Pretreatment/Toxics Management Program</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218</FONT><B><I> <FONT COLOR="#FF0000" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">(NEW!)</FONT></I></B>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">PH: 804-698-4028</FONT>
<BR><FONT COLOR="#000080" SIZE=2 FACE="Times New Roman">FAX: 804-698-4032</FONT>
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