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Mercury contamination and effects on survival of American avocet and black-necked stilt chicks in San Francisco Bay

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Abstract

We evaluated whether mercury influenced survival of free-ranging American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) and black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) chicks in San Francisco Bay, California. Using radio telemetry, we radio-marked 158 avocet and 79 stilt chicks at hatching and tracked them daily until their fate was determined. We did not find strong support for an influence of in ovo mercury exposure on chick survival, despite observing a wide range of mercury concentrations in chick down feathers at hatching (0.40–44.31 μg g−1 fw). We estimated that chick survival rates were reduced by ≤3% over the range of observed mercury concentrations during the 28-day period from hatching to fledging. We also salvaged newly-hatched chicks that were found dead during routine nest monitoring. In contrast to the telemetry results, we found that mercury concentrations in down feathers of dead chicks were higher than those in randomly-sampled live chicks of similar age. However, capture site was the most important variable influencing mercury concentrations, followed by year, species, and hatching date. Although laboratory studies have demonstrated negative effects of environmentally relevant mercury concentrations on chick survival, our results concur with the small number of previous field studies that have not been able to detect reduced survival in the wild.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by the CALFED Bay-Delta Program’s Ecosystem Restoration Program (grant number ERP-02D-C12) with additional support from the USGS Western Ecological Research Center. We thank Angela Rex, Ross Wilming, Eli French, Jill Bluso, Sarah Stoner-Duncan, Carolyn Marn, Brooke Hill, Stacy Moskal, Emily Eppinger, Joe Northrup, Kristen Dybala, Lani Stinson, Scott Demers, and Terry Adelsbach for field assistance and Keith Miles, Robin Keister, and Sarah Spring for lab analyses. We also thank Clyde Morris, Joy Albertson, Mendel Stewart, Joelle Buffa, Eric Mruz, and the staff at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (Special Use Permits 11640-2005-002 and 11640-2006-006) and Nicole Athearn, Cheryl Strong, San Francisco Bay Bird Observatory, and PRBO Conservation Science for logistical support. Early versions of the manuscript were improved by discussions and comments from Mark Ricca, Nicole Athearn, and two anonymous reviewers. The use of trade, product, or firm names in this publication is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U. S. Government.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U. S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, Davis Field Station, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Joshua T. Ackerman

  2. U. S. Geological Survey, Western Ecological Research Center, San Francisco Bay Estuary Field Station, 505 Azuar Drive, Vallejo, CA, 94592, USA

    John Y. Takekawa & Samuel A. Iverson

  3. U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2800 Cottage Way, Suite W-2605, Sacramento, CA, 95825, USA

    Collin A. Eagles-Smith

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  1. Joshua T. Ackerman
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Correspondence to Joshua T. Ackerman.

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Ackerman, J.T., Takekawa, J.Y., Eagles-Smith, C.A. et al. Mercury contamination and effects on survival of American avocet and black-necked stilt chicks in San Francisco Bay. Ecotoxicology 17, 103–116 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-007-0164-y

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