Difference in the amount of micronucleus in Erythrocytes of bird species

Industrial activities and vehicular traffic cause intense air pollution that triggers mutations, as is the case of micronucleus. Birds are sensitive to respond quickly and in various ways to environmental changes, because the species present different habits. The objective was to compare the amount of micronucleus between species of birds dependent and semi-dependent of forest environment. The birds were captured with mist nets in forest areas of the Brazilian Cerrado and branded with metal rings (CEMAVE/ICMBio). Blood extensions were made and were analyzed at optical microscope 5,000 erythrocytes/individual. Was used the Kruskal-Wallis test to verify the difference in the quantity of micronucleus between species and the Mann-Whitney test to prove the difference between dependent and semi-dependent species. We analyzed 490 slides of 245 individuals (15 species). 136 individuals presented micronuclei, totalizing 266 micronucleus. The quantity of micronucleus differed among species (p=0.006), and dependent species had less quantity of micronucleus (p=0.009). The dependence and semi-dependence of forests determines the appearance of micronucleus, because it is a habit that delimits the degree of contact of the birds with toxic agents that generate this type of mutation, once semi-dependent birds can leave the forest environment, being more exposed to urban pollution. For example, Turdus leucomelas, classified as semi-dependent, is found in several habitats, including anthropized, reflecting a higher micronucleus mean (2.60±0.89). While Leptopogon amaurocephalus, classified as dependent and sensitive to alterations environmental presented lower mean (0.55±0.52). The amount of micronucleus varied among species, where species dependent on forest environment had less micronucleus.