Key Words

• Main Authors: Gera M. Troisi, Swans Guillemots, Pahs Immunotoxicity, Oil Diesel
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Olor; Uria aalge; uria
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.426.2487; http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/bitstream/2438/7369/4/FullText.pdf

Aquatic birds are commonly affected by oil spills. Despite rehabilitation efforts the majority of rehabilitated common guillemots (Uria aalge) do not survive, while mute swans (Cygnus olor) tend to have higher post-release survival. Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in crude oil and diesel are immuno-toxic in birds affecting cell-mediated responses to immunogens. Being a target of PAH toxicity, T-lymphocyte response to controlled mitogen administration (phytohemaglutinnin – PHA test) was investigated in a scoping study, as a potentially useful minimally-invasive in vivo test of cell-mediated immunity. The test was conducted on 69 mute swans and 31 common guillemots, stranded on the Norfolk and Lincolnshire coastline and inland waterways in England (U.K), either due to injury or contamination with crude oil or diesel. T-lymphocyte response was significantly reduced in swans with higher oil scores. T-lymphocyte responses were also reduced in guillemots but the finding was not statistically significant.