title: Suggested guidelines for use of avian species as biomonitors.
abstract: An animal's suitability as a biomonitor of environmental change can be determined by biological, reproductive and ecological characteristics determined at the class, order and species level. The animal's habitat where the research is to be performed and the form, function and structure of the environmental change being studied within that habitat also determines suitability. Non-threatened populations of large, non-migratory, long-lived, seasonally-breeding tertiary avian predators, whose dietary preferences are narrow and known, can be useful as monitors of environmental chemical contaminants. If chemicals are being monitored, a quantifiable endpoint effect must be demonstrated in the species, or a similar species under experimental laboratory conditions. Logistical and economic issues as well as public and regulatory authority acceptance should also be considered when assessing the suitability of a species as a biomonitor.
authors.affiliation: The Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, The Veterinary Medical Center, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA. simrah63@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hollamby
authors.forename: Josephine
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Afema-Azikuru
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Waigo
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: A Rae
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Gandolf
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Norris
authors.forename: James G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Sikarskie
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D017408:Guidelines as Topic
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants