Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas
Mercury (Hg) is global pollutant that is toxic to wildlife at low concentrations. In waterbirds, exposure to Hg has resulted in altered breeding behavior, reduced hatching success, and nest abandonment. There have only been a few studies which assessed Hg concentrations in waterbirds in Texas, despi...
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fttexasstate:oai:digital.library.txstate.edu:10877/15715 2023-05-15T13:24:51+02:00 Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas Krebs, Kyle R. Dutton, Jessica Nowlin, Weston Bonner, Tim Green, M. Clay 2022-04-29T18:35:44Z Text 100 pages 1 file (.pdf) application/pdf https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/15715 en eng Krebs, K. R. (2022). Mercury accumulation and tissue distribution in waterbirds overwintering in Texas (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/15715 Mercury Methylmercury Bioaccumulation Biomagnification Waterbird 2022 fttexasstate 2023-02-04T23:05:49Z Mercury (Hg) is global pollutant that is toxic to wildlife at low concentrations. In waterbirds, exposure to Hg has resulted in altered breeding behavior, reduced hatching success, and nest abandonment. There have only been a few studies which assessed Hg concentrations in waterbirds in Texas, despite Texas being one of the greatest Hg emitters in the U.S. and an overwintering location for migratory waterbirds. In this study, tissues (muscle, liver, breast feather, wing feather) from 16 species of waterbirds that overwinter in Texas [American coot (Fulica americana), American wigeon (Mareca americana), blue-winged teal (Spatula discors), canvasback (Aythya valisineria), gadwall (Mareca strepera), green-winged teal (Anas carolinensis), hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), mottled duck (Anas fulvigula), northern pintail (Anas acuta), northern shoveler (Anas clypeata), redhead duck (Aythya americana), red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator), ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), and wood duck (Aix sponsa)] were collected by TPWD licensed hunters from nine locations throughout the state and analyzed for total mercury (THg) using a direct mercury analyzer. This study investigated THg concentrations among species, foraging guilds (granivore, herbivore, omnivore, herbivore), and feeding strategies (dabbler, diver, dabbler/diver, wader) to determine which tissues and species had the greatest THg concentrations, which species had methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations exceeding federal [EPA; 0.3µg/g wet weight (ww)] and state (TDSHS; 0.7 µg/g ww) advisory levels for human consumption, and which species had THg concentrations above known threshold levels for adverse biological effects in birds. This study also investigated the relationship between δ13C and δ15N and muscle THg concentrations, and lastly investigated if wing or breast feather THg concentrations could be used to predict muscle and liver THg concentrations. Overall, THg concentrations were ... Other/Unknown Material Anas acuta Anas clypeata Northern Shoveler Shoveler Texas State University: Digital Collections Repository |
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Open Polar |
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Texas State University: Digital Collections Repository |
op_collection_id |
fttexasstate |
language |
English |
topic |
Mercury Methylmercury Bioaccumulation Biomagnification Waterbird |
spellingShingle |
Mercury Methylmercury Bioaccumulation Biomagnification Waterbird Krebs, Kyle R. Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas |
topic_facet |
Mercury Methylmercury Bioaccumulation Biomagnification Waterbird |
description |
Mercury (Hg) is global pollutant that is toxic to wildlife at low concentrations. In waterbirds, exposure to Hg has resulted in altered breeding behavior, reduced hatching success, and nest abandonment. There have only been a few studies which assessed Hg concentrations in waterbirds in Texas, despite Texas being one of the greatest Hg emitters in the U.S. and an overwintering location for migratory waterbirds. In this study, tissues (muscle, liver, breast feather, wing feather) from 16 species of waterbirds that overwinter in Texas [American coot (Fulica americana), American wigeon (Mareca americana), blue-winged teal (Spatula discors), canvasback (Aythya valisineria), gadwall (Mareca strepera), green-winged teal (Anas carolinensis), hooded merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), mottled duck (Anas fulvigula), northern pintail (Anas acuta), northern shoveler (Anas clypeata), redhead duck (Aythya americana), red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator), ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris) sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), and wood duck (Aix sponsa)] were collected by TPWD licensed hunters from nine locations throughout the state and analyzed for total mercury (THg) using a direct mercury analyzer. This study investigated THg concentrations among species, foraging guilds (granivore, herbivore, omnivore, herbivore), and feeding strategies (dabbler, diver, dabbler/diver, wader) to determine which tissues and species had the greatest THg concentrations, which species had methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations exceeding federal [EPA; 0.3µg/g wet weight (ww)] and state (TDSHS; 0.7 µg/g ww) advisory levels for human consumption, and which species had THg concentrations above known threshold levels for adverse biological effects in birds. This study also investigated the relationship between δ13C and δ15N and muscle THg concentrations, and lastly investigated if wing or breast feather THg concentrations could be used to predict muscle and liver THg concentrations. Overall, THg concentrations were ... |
author2 |
Dutton, Jessica Nowlin, Weston Bonner, Tim Green, M. Clay |
author |
Krebs, Kyle R. |
author_facet |
Krebs, Kyle R. |
author_sort |
Krebs, Kyle R. |
title |
Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas |
title_short |
Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas |
title_full |
Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas |
title_fullStr |
Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury Accumulation and Tissue Distribution in Waterbirds Overwintering in Texas |
title_sort |
mercury accumulation and tissue distribution in waterbirds overwintering in texas |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/15715 |
genre |
Anas acuta Anas clypeata Northern Shoveler Shoveler |
genre_facet |
Anas acuta Anas clypeata Northern Shoveler Shoveler |
op_relation |
Krebs, K. R. (2022). Mercury accumulation and tissue distribution in waterbirds overwintering in Texas (Unpublished thesis). Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/15715 |
_version_ |
1766382039292968960 |