Mercury in Nelson's Sparrow subspecies at breeding sites.

Autor: Virginia L Winder, Steven D Emslie
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2012
Předmět:
Zdroj: PLoS ONE, Vol 7, Iss 2, p e32257 (2012)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1932-6203
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0032257
Popis: BACKGROUND: Mercury is a persistent, biomagnifying contaminant that can cause negative effects on ecosystems. Marshes are often areas of relatively high mercury methylation and bioaccumulation. Nelson's Sparrows (Ammodramus nelsoni) use marsh habitats year-round and have been documented to exhibit tissue mercury concentrations that exceed negative effects thresholds. We sought to further characterize the potential risk of Nelson's Sparrows to mercury exposure by sampling individuals from sites within the range of each of its subspecies. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: From 2009 to 2011, we captured adult Nelson's Sparrows at sites within the breeding range of each subspecies (A. n. nelsoni: Grand Forks and Upham, North Dakota; A. n. alterus: Moosonee, Ontario; and A. n. subvirgatus: Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick) and sampled breast feathers, the first primary feather (P1), and blood for total mercury analysis. Mean blood mercury in nelsoni individuals captured near Grand Forks ranged from 0.84 ± 0.37 to 1.65 ± 1.02 SD ppm among years, between 2.0 and 4.9 times as high as concentrations at the other sites (P
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals