Wintering Greater Scaup as Biomonitors of Metal Contamination in Federal Wildlife Refuges in the Long Island Region |
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Authors: | J B Cohen J S Barclay A R Major J P Fisher |
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Institution: | (1) Wildlife Conservation Research Center, Department of Natural Resources Management and Engineering, University of Connecticut, Box U-87, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-4087, USA , US;(2) US Fish and Wildlife Service, 22 Bridge St., Unit #1, Concord, New Hampshire 03301-4986, USA , US;(3) Pentec Environmental, 120 Third Ave. South, Suite 110, Edmonds, Washington 98020, USA , US |
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Abstract: | Tissues of greater scaup (Aythya marila mariloides) and components of their habitat (sediment, plankton, macroalgae, and invertebrates) were collected for heavy metal analysis
in the winter of 1996–97 from US Department of the Interior wildlife refuges in the Long Island region. Geographic and temporal
relationships between the concentration of nine metals in tissue and in habitat components were examined. In greater scaup
tissues and habitat components, concentrations of As and Se were highest in Branford, Connecticut; Pb values were greatest
in Oyster Bay, New York; and Hg concentrations were largest in Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Over the course of the winter, the
concentration of Hg in liver increased, and concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Se, and Zn in kidney decreased. Based on
several criteria derived from geographic and temporal trends, metals were ranked using the apparent biomonitoring efficacy
of greater scaup (As = Cr > Cu = Pb = Zn = Hg > Se = Cd > Ni). Although the seasonal migration and daily mobility of greater
scaup are drawbacks to using this species as a sentinel for metal pollution, it was possible to demonstrate a relationship
between geographic and temporal patterns of metals in habitat and greater scaup tissue. However, most metal concentrations
in tissue were below thresholds known to adversely affect health of waterfowl.
Received: 19 April 1999/Accepted: 22 July 1999 |
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