Relationships between carbon sources, trophic level and mercury exposure in generalist shorebirds revealed by stable isotope ratios in chicks

Waterbirds

Volumn 32, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 311-321

  Tavares, Paula C ^a,d   McGill, Rona ^b   Newton, Jason ^b   Pereira, Eduarda ^a   Duarte, Armando ^a   Furness, Robert W ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF AVEIRO   (Portugal)

^b SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH CENTRE   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW   (United Kingdom)

^d INSTITUTO SUPERIOR TÉCNICO   (Portugal)

Author keywords

Birds; Carbon; Chicks; Mercury; Nitrogen; Stable isotopes; Trophic shift

Indexed keywords

AQUATIC ECOSYSTEM; BIOACCUMULATION; CARBON EMISSION; CARBON ISOTOPE; ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS; FEATHER; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FOOD WEB; GENERALIST; INTERSPECIFIC VARIATION; MERCURY (ELEMENT); NITROGEN ISOTOPE; POLLUTION EXPOSURE; PREY AVAILABILITY; STABLE ISOTOPE; TROPHIC LEVEL; WADER;

AVES; BOS; BUBULCUS; BUBULCUS IBIS; CHARADRIUS ALEXANDRINUS; HIMANTOPUS HIMANTOPUS; RECURVIROSTRA AVOSETTA;

EID: 77749289260     PISSN: 15244695     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1675/063.032.0211     Document Type: Article

References (30)

1. Alexander, S. A., K. A. Hobson, C. L. Gratto-Trevor and A. W. Diamond. 1996. Conventional and isotopic determinations of shorebirds diets at an inland stopover: the importance of invertebrates and Potamogeton pectinarus tubers. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74: 1057-1068.
2. Bearhop, S., D. R. Thompson, S. Waldron, I. C. Russell, G. Alexander and R. W. Furness. 1999. Stable isotopes indicate the extent of freshwater feeding by cormorants Phalacrocorax carbo shot at inland fisheries in England. Journal of Applied Ecology 36: 75-84.
3. Bearhop, S., R. A. Phillips, D. R. Thompson, S. Waldron and R. W. Furness. 2000. Variability in mercury concentrations of great skuas Catharacta skua: the influence of colony, diet and trophic status inferred from stable isotope signatures. Marine Ecological Progress Series 195: 261-268. (Pubitemid 30221227)
4. Britton, R. H. and A. R. Johnson 1987. An ecological account of a Mediterranean salina: the salina de Giraud, Camargue. Biological Conservation 42: 185-230.
5. Bryan, G. W. and W. J. Langston. 1992. Bioavailability, accumulation and effects of heavy metals in sediments with special reference to United Kingdom Estuaries: a review. Environmental Pollution 76: 89-131.
6. Castro, M. and A. Perez-Hurtado. 1996. Estudio preliminar sobre la dieta de pollos y adultos del Chorlitejo patinegro Charadrius alexandrinus en el Parque Natural Bahia de Cadiz (SO Espana). Airo 7: 58-62.
7. Cramp, S. and K. E. L. Simmons. 1983. Handbook of the Birds of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The Birds of the Western Paleartic, vol.3 (Waders to Gulls). Oxford University Press, New York.
8. DeNiro, M. J. and S. Epstein. 1978. Influence of diet on the distribution of carbon isotopes in animals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 42: 495-506.
9. Fry, B. and E.B. Sherr. 1984. d13C measurements as indicators of carbon flow in marine and freshwater ecosystems. Contributions in Marine Science 27: 13-47.
10. Gorski, P. R., L. B. Cleckner, J. P. Hurley, M. E. Sierszen and D. E. Armstrong. 2003. Factors affecting enhanced mercury bioaccumulation in inland lakes of Isle Royale Park, USA. The Science of the Total Environment 304: 327-348.
11. Hebert, C. E. and L. I. Wassenaar. 2001. Stable Nitrogen Isotopes in waterfowl feathers reflect agricultural land use in western Canada. Environmental Science and Technology 35: 3482-3487.
12. Hobson, K. A. and R. G. Clark. 1992a. Assessing avian diets using stable isotopes I: turnover of 13C in tissues. Condor 94: 181-188.
13. Hobson, K. A. and R. G. Clark. 1992b. Assessing avian diets using stable isotopes II: factors influencing diet-tissue fractionation. Condor 94: 189-197.
14. Jarman, W. M., K. A. Hobson, W. J. Sydeman, C. E. Bacon and E. B. McLaren. 1996. Influence of trophic position and feeding location on contaminant levels in the Gulf of the Farallones food web revealed by stable isotope analysis. Environmental Science & Technology 30: 654-660.
15. Kelly, J. F. 2000. Stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in the study of avian and mammalian trophic ecology. Canadian Journal of Zoology 78: 1-27.
16. McCutchan Jr., J. H., W. M. Lewis Jr., C. Kendall and C. C. McGrath. 2003. Variation in trophic shift for stable isotope ratios of carbon, nitrogen, and sulphur. Oikos 102: 378-390.
17. Meininger, P. L. and T. Szekely. 1997. Kentish Plover. Pages 260-261 in The EBCC atlas of European breeding birds: Their distribution and abundance (W. J. M. Hagemeijer and M. J. Blair, Eds.). T & A D Poyser, London.
18. Nisbet, I. C. T., J. P. Montoya, J. Burger and J. J. Hatch. 2002. Use of stable isotopes to investigate individual differences in diets and mercury exposures among common terns Sterna hirundo in breeding and wintering grounds. Marine Ecology Progress Series 242: 267-274.
19. Pearson, S. F., D. J. Levey, C. H. Greenberg and C. M. Rio. 2003. Effects of elemental composition on the incorporation of dietary nitrogen and carbon isotopic signatures in an omnivorous songbird. Ecophysiology 135: 516-523.
20. Phillips, D. L. and P. M. Eldridge. 2006. Estimating the timing of diet shifts using stable isotopes. Oecologia 147: 195-203.
21. Podlesak, D. W., S. R. McWilliams and K. A. Hatch. 2005. Stable isotopes in breath, blood, feces and feathers can indicate intra-individual changes in the diet of migratory songbirds. Oecologia 142: 501-510.
22. Post, D. M. 2002. Using stable isotopes to estimate trophic position: models, methods, and assumptions. Ecology 83: 703-718.
23. Svensson, L. 1992. Identification guide to European passerines. 4th edition. Lars Svensson, Vierde druk, Sodertalje, Stockholm.
24. Tavares, P. C., A. Kelly, R. Maia, R. J. Lopes, R. Serrao Santos, M. E. Pereira, A. C. Duarte and R. W. Furness. 2008. Variation in the mobilization of mercury into Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus chicks in coastal saltpans, as revealed by stable isotopes. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 77: 65-76.
25. Thompson, D. R. and R. W. Furness. 1989. Comparison of the levels of total and organic mercury in seabird feathers. Marine Pollution Bulletin 20: 577-579.
26. Thompson, D. R., S. Bearhop, J. R. Speakman and R. W. Furness. 1998. Feathers as means of monitoring mercury in seabirds: insights from stable isotope analysis. Environmental Pollution 101: 193-200.
27. Tucker, G. M. and M. F. Heath. 1994. Birds in Europe: Their conservation status. BirdLife Conservation Series 3.
28. Valiela, I. 1984: Marine Ecological Processes. Springer Verlag, New York.
29. Velasquez, C. R. 1992. Managing artificial saltpans as a waterbird habitat: species' responses to water level manipulation. Colonial Waterbirds 15: 43-55.
30. Zar, J. H. 1996. Biostatistical Analysis, 3rd edition. Prentice-Hall. International Editions, New Jersey.