SREL Reprint #3299

Precipitation influences on uptake of a global pollutant by a coastal avian species

Albert L. Bryan Jr.1, Joel W. Snodgrass2, Heather A. Brant1, Christopher S. Romanek1, Charles H. Jagoe1,
and Gary L. Mills1, and I. Lehr Brisbin Jr.1

1Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina, USA
2Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, Maryland, USA

Abstract: Climatic variation, including precipitation amounts and timing, has been linked to abundance and breeding success of many avian species. Less studied, but also of significance, is the consequence of climatic variability on the exposure and uptake of nutrients and contaminants by wildlife. The authors examined mercury (Hg) concentrations in nestling wood stork feathers in a coastal setting over a 16-yr period to understand the influence of rainfall amounts on Hg transfer by parental provisioning relative to habitat use, assuming differential bioavailability of Hg within freshwater and saltwater habitat types. Coastal Hg uptake by stork nestlings was linked to freshwater habitat use, as indicated by stable carbon isotope (δ13C) analyses. Cumulative rainfall amounts exceeding 220 cm in the 23 mo preceding the breeding seasons resulted in greater use of freshwater wetlands as foraging habitat and greater Hg accumulation by nestling storks.

Keywords: Climate, Rainfall, Mercury, Wetlands, Wood storks

SREL Reprint #3299

Bryan Jr., A. L., J. W. Snodgrass, H. A. Brant, C. S. Romanek, C. H. Jagoe, G. L. Mills and I. L. Brisbin Jr. 2014. Precipitation influences on uptake of a global pollutant by a coastal avian species. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 33(12): 2711-2715.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).