SREL Reprint #3807

Uptake of metals, metalloids, and radiocesium varies with habitat use among passerine communities at coal combustion and nuclear fission legacy waste sites

Courtney S. Werner1,2, Mary Chapman1, Olin E. Rhodes Jr.1,3, and Travis L. DeVault1,2

1Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, P.O. Drawer E, Aiken, SC, 29802, USA
2Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, 180 E Green St, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
3Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, 140 E Green St, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

Abstract: Releases of coal combustion and nuclear fission wastes create contaminated landscapes that pose long-term management challenges. Efforts to facilitate the natural attenuation of legacy wastes in the environment can provide attractive habitat for passerine birds. Passerines have diverse foraging and nesting behaviors that lead to heterogenous contaminant exposure, yet few studies investigate contaminant uptake in passerines on a community scale. This study evaluated whether variation in habitat use strategies among passerines predicted the ongoing uptake of waste-derived elements by birds inhabiting coal combustion and nuclear fission legacy waste areas on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Blood concentrations of selenium, arsenic, mercury, zinc, copper, and lead were measured in 362 birds from 35 species. Whole-body radioactivity concentrations due to cesium-137 were measured in vivo in 143 birds from 31 species using a novel, field-based gamma spectrometry system. Generalized linear mixed effects models were used to evaluate whether trophic category and degree of terrestriality predicted contaminant burdens among passerine communities. Selenium, mercury, arsenic, and cesium-137 were elevated in passerines inhabiting legacy waste sites compared to those at reference sites. Blood concentrations of selenium and mercury varied by trophic category, whereas arsenic and cesium-137 increased with degree of terrestriality. The behavioral correlates of contaminant uptake among passerines provide insight into the mobility of waste-derived elements in ecosystems and inform species-level risk assessments. Future studies should use in vivo gamma spectrometry to conduct long-term field studies that evaluate the effects of internal radiation in small-bodied wildlife.

Keywords: Arsenic; Bird; Contaminant; Mercury; Radionuclide; Remediation; Selenium

SREL Reprint #3807

Werner, C. S., M. Chapman, O. E. Rhodes Jr., and T. L. DeVault. 2025. Uptake of metals, metalloids, and radiocesium varies with habitat use among passerine communities at coal combustion and nuclear fission legacy waste sites. Environmental Pollution 367(125608).

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