Sterols and Stanols Preserved in Pond Sediments Track Seabird Biovectors in a High Arctic Environment

Cheng, Weixin; Sun, Liguang; Kimpe, Linda E.; Smol, John P.; Gallant, Lauren R.; Li, Jinping; Blais, Jules M.

doi:10.1021/acs.est.6b02767

Cited by 25 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…3‰ difference per trophic level). These are consistent indicators associated with the influence of a large bird colony nesting around a pond, as has been found on other islands in this region [43], and in the High Arctic [38,52].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Of the total plant sterols (combining sitosterol and stigmastanol), ring-billed gulls had the greatest proportion and concentration within their faeces. Similar to previous work [29,52,54], these results suggest that cholesterol is the dominant sterol in bird faeces; however, the diet of a single bird living in a dynamic landscape and close to a city centre may vary widely. For example, herring gulls are generalist predators on fishes, insects, small mammals and birds, and the eggs and young of co-occurring species, as well as opportunistic scavengers of dead animals or garbage from landfills [36,55].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

“…The nine sterols and stanols that were examined in all samples include: coprostanol (5b-cholestan-3b-ol), epicoprostanol (5b-cholestan-3a-ol), coprostanone (5b-cholestan-3-one), cholesterol (cholest-5-en-3b-ol), 5a-cholestanol (5a-cholestan-3b-ol), cholestanone (5a-cholestan-3-one), stigmastanol (5a-stigmastano-3b-ol), and sitosterol (b-sitosterol). Analytical methods for analysing sterols and stanols in sediments were modified from Birk et al [51] and Cheng et al [52] and detailed in the electronic supplementary material, along with detection limits and quality assurance/ quality control measures.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of different ratios for determining a range of waterbird influence on the different ponds was explored both spatially and temporally. One of these ratios was an index for determining seabird impact on High Arctic ponds at Cape Vera (Nunavut) previously published by Cheng et al [52] (seabird index ¼ cholesterol/(cholesterol þ sitosterol)). Given the large quantity of stigmastanol and the absence of sitosterol in many of our sample ponds, we included this plant stanol within the ratio.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sterols and stanols as novel tracers of waterbird population dynamics in freshwater ponds

et al. 2018

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With the expansion of urban centres in the mid-twentieth century and the post-1970 decrease in pesticides, populations of double-crested cormorants () and ring-billed gulls () around Lake Ontario (Canada and USA) have rapidly rebounded, possibly to unprecedented numbers. Along with the use of traditional palaeolimnological methods (e.g. stable isotopes, biological proxies), we now have the capacity to develop specific markers for directly tracking the presence of waterbirds on nesting islands. Here, we apply the use of lipophilic sterols and stanols from both plant and animal-faecal origins as a reliable technique, independent of traditional isotopic methods, for pinpointing waterbird arrival and population growth over decadal timescales. Sterol and stanol concentrations measured in the guano samples of waterbird species were highly variable within a species and between the three species of waterbirds examined. However, cholesterol was the dominant sterol in guano, and phytosterols were also high in ring-billed gull guano. This variability highlights a specialist piscivorous diet for cormorants compared to a generalist, omnivorous diet for gulls, which may now often include grain and invertebrates from agricultural fields. A ratio that includes cholesterol and sitosterol plus their aerobically reduced products (cholestanol, stigmastanol) best explained the present range of bird abundance across the islands and was significantly correlated to sedimentary δN. Overall, we demonstrate the use of sterols and stanols as a direct means for tracking the spatial and temporal presence of waterbirds on islands across Lake Ontario, and probably elsewhere.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sterols and stanols as novel tracers of waterbird population dynamics in freshwater ponds

et al. 2018

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“…Sterols and stanols, found in varying concentrations and combinations in the feces of animals (7), are emerging as important proxies to directly track animal inputs to lake sediments over decadal-scale and century-scale time periods (1, 8). For example, the ratio of cholesterol (cholest-5-en-3β-ol) to cholesterol and sitosterol (β-sitosterol), a common phytosterol, demonstrated significant enrichment of cholesterol in pond sediments closest to a nesting colony of northern fulmars ( Fulmarus glacialis ) in the High Arctic and was significantly correlated with ornithogenic δ 15 N enrichment of sediment (9). This “seabird sterol index” provides a direct measure of seabird presence and, when measured in sediment cores, can be used to infer population trends through time.…”

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confidence: 99%

Multicentury perspective assessing the sustainability of the historical harvest of seaducks

Hargan

Gilchrist

Clyde

et al. 2019

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Where available, census data on seabirds often do not extend beyond a few years or decades, challenging our ability to identify drivers of population change and to develop conservation policies. Here, we reconstruct long-term population dynamics of northern common eiders (Somateria mollissima borealis). We analyzed sterols together with stable nitrogen isotopes in dated pond sediment cores to show that eiders underwent broadscale population declines over the 20th century at Canadian subarctic breeding sites. Likely, a rapidly growing Greenland population, combined with relocation of Inuit to larger Arctic communities and associated increases in the availability of firearms and motors during the early to mid-20th century, generated more efficient hunting practices, which in turn reduced the number of adult eiders breeding at Canadian nesting islands. Our paleolimnological approach highlights that current and local monitoring windows for many sensitive seabird species may be inadequate for making key conservation decisions.

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Lake Deposits

Michelutti

Smol

2018

The Encyclopedia of Archaeological Sciences

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Lake deposits act as natural archives of past environmental changes. The study of lake sediments, or paleolimnology, can complement archaeological investigations because the environmental consequences of prior human activities (e.g., agriculture, metallurgy, land clearance) are preserved in lacustrine deposits. Moreover, paleolimnology can be used to reconstruct past climatic conditions under which previous cultures flourished or declined, providing an ecological context to help interpret sociopolitical change. Typically, archaeologists have used paleolimnological approaches to supplement their studies by: (1) tracking the impacts of ancient cultures on the local environment (e.g., eutrophication, erosion); (2) determining the activities and cultural practices of past civilizations (e.g., agriculture, mining); (3) directly tracking the presence/absence of humans using unequivocal indicators such as tiny artifacts (e.g., microdebitage) or distinct biomarkers (e.g., fecal steroids); and (4) obtaining a holistic reconstruction of climate and catchment‐related changes, as well as food availability and water quality/quantity, providing an environmental context to the growth and decline of past cultures.

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Sterols and Stanols Preserved in Pond Sediments Track Seabird Biovectors in a High Arctic Environment

Cited by 25 publications

References 87 publications

Sterols and stanols as novel tracers of waterbird population dynamics in freshwater ponds

Sterols and stanols as novel tracers of waterbird population dynamics in freshwater ponds

Multicentury perspective assessing the sustainability of the historical harvest of seaducks

Lake Deposits

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