Moulting patterns drive within-individual variations of stable isotopes and mercury in seabird body feathers: implications for monitoring of the marine environment
نویسندگان
چکیده
منابع مشابه
Influence of trophic position and foraging range on mercury levels within a seabird community
Seabirds are often advocated as biomonitors for marine contaminants such as mercury (Hg). However, contaminant levels can vary widely depending on among-individual and amongspecies variation in foraging preferences and physiology, and on tissue types used for analyses. Using stable isotope analysis (SIA), we investigated the effects of trophic position, season, and tissue type on Hg burdens in ...
متن کاملFeathers as a means of monitoring mercury in seabirds: Insights from stable isotope analysis.
Mercury concentrations, together with nitrogen and carbon stable isotope signatures, were determined in body feather samples from northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis and great skuas Catharacta skua, and in different flight feathers from great skuas. There were no significant relationships between trophic status, as defined using isotope analysis, and mercury concentration in the same feather ty...
متن کاملExamination of Toxic Metals (mercury) in Coot (Fulica atra) and Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) Collected in Anzali and Gomishan Wetlands, Iran
Background: Present study was carried out in north of Iran to investigate the concentration of mercury (Hg) as one of the most toxic metals in tissues of two species of birds. Methods: In this study, 15 birds from coot (Fulica atra) and 18 birds from cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) were hunted in Anzali and Gomishan wetlands. Data-analyses carried out using SPSS software version 17 licenced...
متن کاملWide Range of Mercury Contamination in Chicks of Southern Ocean Seabirds
Using top predators as sentinels of the marine environment, Hg contamination was investigated within the large subantarctic seabird community of Kerguelen Islands, a remote area from the poorly known Southern Indian Ocean. Chicks of 21 sympatric seabirds presented a wide range of Hg concentrations, with the highest contaminated species containing ~102 times more feather Hg than the less contami...
متن کاملQuantifying variation in δ13C and δ15N isotopes within and between feathers and individuals: Is one sample enough?
Studies of avian migration increasingly use stable isotope analysis to provide vital trophic and spatial markers. However, when interpreting differences in stable isotope values of feathers, many studies are forced to make assumptions about the timing of moult. A fundamental question remains about the consistency of these values within and between feathers from the same individual. In this stud...
متن کامل