Mercury concentrations in primary feathers reflect pollutant exposure in discrete non-breeding grounds used by Short-tailed Shearwaters

We measured mercury concentrations ([Hg]) and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (delta N-15) in the primary feathers of Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) that were tracked year-round. The [Hg] were highest in 14 birds that used the Okhotsk and northern Japan Seas during the non-breeding...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Ornithology
Main Authors: Watanuki, Yutaka, Yamamoto, Takashi, Yamashita, Ai, Ishii, Chihiro, Ikenaka, Yoshinori, Nakayama, Shouta M. M., Ishizuka, Mayumi, Suzuki, Yuya, Niizuma, Yasuaki, Meathrel, C. E., Phillips, R. A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer
Subjects:
Geolocator
Trophic level
Northern North Pacific
Monitoring
660
Bering Sea
Okhotsk
Pacific
Puffinus tenuirostris
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2115/62327
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1205-6
Description
Summary:We measured mercury concentrations ([Hg]) and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (delta N-15) in the primary feathers of Short-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) that were tracked year-round. The [Hg] were highest in 14 birds that used the Okhotsk and northern Japan Seas during the non-breeding period (2.5 +/- A 1.4 mu g/g), lowest in nine birds that used the eastern Bering Sea (0.8 +/- A 0.2 mu g/g), and intermediate in five birds that used both regions (1.0 +/- A 0.5 mu g/g), with no effects of delta N-15. The results illustrate that samples from seabirds can provide a useful means of monitoring pollution at a large spatial scale.

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