Concentrations of trace elements in eggs and blood of spectacled and common eiders on the Yukon‐Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, USA

Grand, James B.; Franson, J. Christian; Flint, Paul L.; Petersen, Margaret R.

doi:10.1002/etc.5620210819

Cited by 16 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Incubating spectacled eiders (June 27-July 14) were captured using bow nets. We [2] in northern Alaska, St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea [10], and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in western Alaska [4,5,7,8,32,39]. captured failed breeders (females not associated with nests) between July 7 and 14 and broods (females with associated ducklings) between August 11 and 18 using mist nets.…”

Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We compared the effect of species, sex, actual capture date, and the species*sex interaction on concentration levels of all adult eiders. Restricting our analysis to spectacled eider females, we used nonlinear regression, constrained to an exponential decay equation, to estimate daily decline in blood selenium levels [8] and linear regression to evaluate the changes in all other metal concentrations with date of capture. We used multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of variance to examine the variation between adult female spectacled eiders and ducklings during brood rearing and assumed independence among ducklings within broods.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Concentrations of metals and trace elements in blood of spectacled and king eiders in northern Alaska, USA

Wilson

Petersen

Troy

2004

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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In 1996, we measured concentrations of arsenic, barium, cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium in blood of adult king (Somateria spectabilis) and spectacled (Somateria fischeri) eiders and duckling spectacled eiders from northern Alaska, USA. Concentrations of selenium exceeded background levels in all adults sampled and 9 of 12 ducklings. Mercury was detected in all adult spectacled eiders and 5 of 12 ducklings. Lead concentrations were above the clinical toxicity threshold in one duckling (0.64 ppm) and two adult female spectacled eiders (0.54 and 4.30 ppm). Concentrations of cadmium and mercury varied between species; barium, cadmium, mercury, and selenium varied between sexes. In female spectacled eiders, mercury concentrations increased during the breeding season and barium and selenium levels decreased through the breeding season. Selenium declined at 2.3 +/- 0.9% per day and levels were lower in spectacled eiders arriving to the breeding grounds in northern Alaska than in western Alaska. The variation in selenium levels between breeding areas may be explained by differences in timing and routes of spring migration. Most trace elements for which we tested were not at levels currently considered toxic to marine birds. However, the presence of mercury and elevated lead in ducklings and adult female spectacled eiders suggests these metals are available on the breeding grounds.

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Section: Sample Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentrations of metals and trace elements in blood of spectacled and king eiders in northern Alaska, USA

Wilson

Petersen

Troy

2004

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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“…Both eider species nest in tundra habitats along the coastal Bering and Beaufort Seas, and feed on insects, insect larvae, seeds and plant materials in tundra ponds (Petersen et al, 2000;Fredrickson, 2001). Reproductive problems and low productivity have been documented for both species (Grand et al, 2002;Rojek, 2008). In Steller's and spectacled eiders, the relative importance of marine and terrestrial nutrients for reproduction is unknown, but there is evidence to suggest that some sea duck species acquire nutrients for successful breeding from both the terrestrial nesting and marine staging grounds (Bond et al, 2007;Sénéchal et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carbon isotopic fractionation in eider adipose tissue varies with fatty acid structure: implications for trophic studies

Budge

Wang

Hollmén

et al. 2011

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYCarbon isotopic fractionation was investigated in fatty acids (FA) of adipose tissue and blood serum of threatened Stellerʼs eiders (Polysticta stelleri) and spectacled eiders (Somateria fischeri) relative to the FA in their diets. Captive eiders were fed a known diet for 180 days with serum sampled at 60, 120 and 180 days immediately after a 12 h fast; adipose was collected at 180 days. Essential FA (EFA) in the adipose showed varying degrees of isotope fractionation (0-4‰), depending on FA structure. The d13 C values of long-chain FA 20:5n-3 and 22:6n-3 did not differ from those in the diet, while those of 18:2n-6 and 18:3n-3 were ~2‰ greater than in the diet. The d13 C values of free FA (FFA) in serum were not consistent within individuals or sampling dates; fractionation varied randomly, suggesting that FFA were arising from diet, rather than mobilization from adipose tissue. Discrimination factors were used in combination with a mixing model incorporating FA and lipid concentrations to estimate the diet of eiders fed a binary mixture with contrasting isotopic signatures. Diet estimates varied with FA but mean values closely approximated the actual proportions consumed. By tracking EFA, this study avoided the complications in interpretation arising from isotopic routing of carbon in bulk isotope analyses and serves as a basis for the development of compound-specific isotopic methods to trace dietary input in wild eiders. However, our understanding of the processes contributing to the variation in isotopic signatures of FA in nature is currently limited, and we recommend that future research directions focus on elucidating these mechanisms.Key words: diet estimate, discrimination, lipid, compound-specific isotope analysis, stable isotope, Steller's eider, spectacled eider. THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY 3791Carbon isotopes of fatty acids in eiders of higher predators (e.g. Thiemann et al., 2007;Williams et al., 2008;Cooper et al., 2009), including captive eiders . FA are the primary components of most lipids and have a variety of structures. Because of biochemical restrictions, many dietary polyunsaturated FA (PUFA) are incorporated into marine animals with little modification to structure, making these FA valuable as indicators, or biomarkers, of their source. However, these biomarker techniques can only offer general information on temporal and spatial variation in consumer diets; much more complex models (i.e. quantitative fatty acid signature analysis, QFASA) (Iverson et al., 2004) are necessary to estimate proportions and types of prey species in predator diets using FA.Recently, we demonstrated the use of stable carbon isotopes of individual FA to trace carbon flow from prey to predator across multiple trophic levels in the Arctic (Budge et al., 2008 (Focken, 2004;Codron et al., 2011) and environmental factors (Bloomfield et al., 2011), and techniques such as lipid removal before isotopic analysis attempt to minimize its impact; however, it remains a complication in the interpretation of bul...

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“…Marine birds, including emperor geese, may also transfer less selenium to their eggs than freshwater birds. For example, eggs of white-winged scoters (Melanitta fusca) contained considerably less selenium than what was predicted from selenium concentrations in their livers, based on liver-to-egg relationships in freshwater birds, and selenium concentrations in eggs of eiders were several times less than the selenium levels in blood samples [24,31,32]. However, the fact that incubating female emperor geese had a mean selenium concentration of approximately 5 ppm wet weight in their blood points to the need to study the effect on selenium exposure on reproductive success in this species.…”

Section: Selenium Concentrations In Bloodmentioning

confidence: 99%

Blood Selenium Concentrations and Enzyme Activities Related to Glutathione Metabolism in Wild Emperor Geese

Franson¹,

Hoffman²,

Schmutz³

2002

Environ Toxicol Chem

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In 1998, we collected blood samples from 63 emperor geese (Chen canagica) on their breeding grounds on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD) in western Alaska, USA. We studied the relationship between selenium concentrations in whole blood and the activities of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase in plasma. Experimental studies have shown that plasma activities of these enzymes are useful biomarkers of selenium-induced oxidative stress, but little information is available on their relationship to selenium in the blood of wild birds. Adult female emperor geese incubating their eggs in mid-June had a higher mean concentration of selenium in their blood and a greater activity of glutathione peroxidase in their plasma than adult geese or goslings that were sampled during the adult flight feather-molting period in late July and early August. Glutathione peroxidase activity was positively correlated with the concentration of selenium in the blood of emperor geese, and the rate of increase relative to selenium was greater in goslings than in adults. The activity of glutathione reductase was greatest in the plasma of goslings and was greater in molting adults than incubating females but was not significantly correlated with selenium in the blood of adults or goslings. Incubating female emperor geese had high selenium concentrations in their blood, accompanied by increased glutathione peroxidase activity consistent with early oxidative stress. These findings indicate that further study of the effects of selenium exposure, particularly on reproductive success, is warranted in this species.

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Concentrations of trace elements in eggs and blood of spectacled and common eiders on the Yukon‐Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, USA

Cited by 16 publications

References 35 publications

Concentrations of metals and trace elements in blood of spectacled and king eiders in northern Alaska, USA

Concentrations of metals and trace elements in blood of spectacled and king eiders in northern Alaska, USA

Carbon isotopic fractionation in eider adipose tissue varies with fatty acid structure: implications for trophic studies

Blood Selenium Concentrations and Enzyme Activities Related to Glutathione Metabolism in Wild Emperor Geese

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