Abstract
Tree swallows nesting on mercury-contaminated sites along the South River in Virginia, USA were monitored for reproductive success. The bodies of nestlings found deceased in their nest boxes were collected, along with blood and feather samples from the adult parents and surviving siblings. We also measured hatching and fledging success of the clutches and the annual recapture rate of adults. We found that the body feathers of deceased nestlings contained significantly higher concentrations of mercury (12.89 ± 8.42 μg/g, n = 15) than those of nestlings that survived to fledge (7.41 ± 4.79 μg/g, n = 15). However, mothers of more successful clutches (>75 % hatching) did not differ in mercury concentrations from females with less successful clutches (<50 % hatching). Additionally, adult females breeding for the first time that returned to breed the following year did not differ in blood mercury from females of the same age that bred once but never returned. Our results suggest that mercury had its greatest effect on these songbirds during the nestling stage, whereas for embryos or first-time breeding females, other factors likely played larger roles in mortality.
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Acknowledgments
Research was completed with oversight from the South River Science Team, which is a collaboration of state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and environmental interests. Thank you to all of the students who collected deceased nestlings from 2005 to 2009. All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution at which the studies were conducted.
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Taylor, C.E., Cristol, D.A. Tissue Mercury Concentrations and Survival of Tree Swallow Embryos, Nestlings and Young Adult Females on a Contaminated Site. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 95, 459–464 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1643-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-015-1643-0