Heavy metals may change birds’ brains Victor Tyakht / Getty
Exposure to toxic metals may alter the personalities of songbirds. Great tits may be less curious and unwilling to explore new places if their habitat is contaminated with heavy metals.
Great tits (Parus major) have personalities. That means each bird consistently behaves in certain ways, while others consistently behave differently. For example, some great tits are bolder than others when it comes to exploring new places.
Andrea Grunst at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and her colleagues examined whether exposure to heavy metals can alter these behavioural traits.
They studied…
