Metals in tissues of migrant semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) from Delaware Bay, New Jersey

Burger, Joanna; Gochfeld, Michael; Niles, Lawrence J.; Dey, Amanda; Jeitner, Christian; Pittfield, Taryn; Tsipoura, Nellie

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2014.05.020

Cited by 19 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…During the spring stopover at Delaware Bay, the red knots and other shorebirds nearly double their weight in order to successfully fly, non-stop, the 6500-km journey to their Arctic breeding grounds [ 34 , 35 ]. With increasing urbanization and industrialization along our coasts, species that forage almost exclusively along the coasts are also exposed to increasing levels of contaminants [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. Thus, shorebirds are exposed to whatever contaminants are in the horseshoe crab eggs, and they eat thousands while in the Bay [ 22 , 39 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metal Levels in Blood of Three Species of Shorebirds during Stopover on Delaware Bay Reflect Levels in Their Food, Horseshoe Crab Eggs

Burger

Tsipoura

Gochfeld

2017

Toxics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the relationship between metal level in predators and their prey is an important issue, and is usually difficult to determine because animals eat a variety of organisms. However, shorebirds that stop over during spring migration along Delaware Bay (New Jersey) stay for only 2–3 weeks, and eat mainly horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs. In this paper, we examine the relationship between metal levels in horseshoe crab eggs, and blood and feather levels of metals in red knot (Calidris canutus rufa; n = 30), sanderling (Calidris alba; n = 20) and semipalmated sandpiper (Calidris pusilla; n = 38) from Delaware Bay. There is a rich literature on metal levels in feathers. For all three species, the levels of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and mercury in blood were highly correlated with the levels of metals in the eggs of horseshoe crab (17 pooled samples). This indicates that the levels in the blood of these shorebirds quickly reflect levels in their prey (horseshoe crab eggs), while metals in the feathers were not correlated with the levels in eggs. Semipalmated sandpipers had the lowest levels of arsenic in blood and the highest levels of arsenic in feathers, compared to the other species. At Delaware Bay, semipalmated sandpipers have a diet higher in marsh invertebrates than the other species, which may account for the differences. The levels of cadmium and chromium in blood were significantly higher in knots than other species; knots only ate horseshoe crab eggs. For all of the metals except arsenic, the ratio of levels in blood/feathers was similar among species. For arsenic, the ratio of levels in blood/feathers were significantly lower in semipalmated sandpipers than in the other species, by an order of magnitude.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metal Levels in Blood of Three Species of Shorebirds during Stopover on Delaware Bay Reflect Levels in Their Food, Horseshoe Crab Eggs

Burger

Tsipoura

Gochfeld

2017

Toxics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The concentration Conversely, in our study, juveniles and adults had the same patterns of exposure and we did not find (Table 1) 257 ranged from 2.142 (juvenile females) to 2.656 mg kg -1 (adults males), and were similar or higher (Burger et al 2014). In the present study, the Se:Hg molar ratio was above 1, 272 ranging from 2.51 (adult females) to 2.77 (adult males) and presumably protective for both genders 273 (Table 2).…”

mentioning

confidence: 75%

Sex- and age-related variation in metal content of penguin feathers

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

18The presence of xenobiotics, such as metals, in ecosystems is concerning due to their durability and 19 they pose a threat to the health and life of organisms. Moreover, mercury can biomagnify in many 20 marine food chains and, therefore, organisms at higher trophic levels can be adversely impacted. 21 Although feathers have been used extensively as a bio-monitoring tool, only a few studies have

show abstract

“…Blood was collected from wing veins in heparinized capillary tubes and refrigerated. A pinch of breast feathers was collected from each bird [33,35,55,56,57]. Blood was kept in a cooler until it was taken to the lab, where it was frozen for later analysis.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heavy Metals in Biota in Delaware Bay, NJ: Developing a Food Web Approach to Contaminants

Burger

Tsipoura

Niles³

et al. 2019

Toxics

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Understanding the relationship between heavy metal and selenium levels in biota and their foods is important, but often difficult to determine because animals eat a variety of organisms. Yet such information is critical to managing species populations, ecological integrity, and risk to receptors (including humans) from consumption of certain prey. We examine levels of cadmium, lead, mercury, and selenium in biota from Delaware Bay (New Jersey, USA) to begin construction of a “springtime” food web that focuses on shorebirds. Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs are one of the key components at the base of the food web, and crab spawning in spring provides a food resource supporting a massive stopover of shorebirds. Fish and other biota also forage on the crab eggs, and a complex food web leads directly to top-level predators such as bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) and striped bass (Morone saxatilis), both of which are consumed by egrets, eagles, ospreys (Pandion haliaetus), and humans. Metal levels in tissues were generally similar in algae, invertebrates, and small fish, and these were similar to those in blood of shorebirds (but not feathers). There was a significant direct relationship between the levels of metals in eggs of horseshoe crabs and mean metal levels in the blood of four species of shorebirds. Metal levels in shorebird feathers were higher than those in blood (except for selenium), reflecting sequestration of metals in feathers during their formation. Levels in feathers of laughing gulls (Leucophaeus atricilla) were similar to those in feathers of shorebirds (except for selenium). Selenium bears special mention as levels were significantly higher in the blood of all shorebird species than in other species in the food web, and were similar to levels in their feathers. Levels of metals in bluefish and striped bass were similar or higher than those found in the blood of shorebirds (except for selenium). The mean levels of cadmium, lead, and mercury in the blood and feathers of shorebirds were below any effect levels, but selenium levels in the blood and feathers of shorebirds were higher than the sublethal effect levels for birds. This is a cause for concern, and warrants further examination.

show abstract

Metals in tissues of migrant semipalmated sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) from Delaware Bay, New Jersey

Cited by 19 publications

References 49 publications

Metal Levels in Blood of Three Species of Shorebirds during Stopover on Delaware Bay Reflect Levels in Their Food, Horseshoe Crab Eggs

Metal Levels in Blood of Three Species of Shorebirds during Stopover on Delaware Bay Reflect Levels in Their Food, Horseshoe Crab Eggs

Sex- and age-related variation in metal content of penguin feathers

Heavy Metals in Biota in Delaware Bay, NJ: Developing a Food Web Approach to Contaminants

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About