title: Population declines and heavy metal exposure of Swinhoe's Storm Petrels (Oceanodroma monorhis) breeding on the southwest coast of Korea.
abstract: We investigated the population dynamics of globally near-threatened Swinhoe's Storm Petrels on Kugul and Chilbal islets where >90% of the world breeding population have resided for >25 years. We also determined the levels of six heavy metals in the seabird species as a possible factor affecting reproduction. Of the 892 and 307 marked burrows since 1986, the breeding density of Swinhoe's Storm Petrels has changed significantly, based on a 55% decline at Kugul islet, and a 39% decline at Chilbal islet, suggesting that this species has suffered an extensive population decline. Of the individuals studied, five Swinhoe's Storm Petrels and two Streaked Shearwaters had >8.0 μg/g Pb in tissues, which is a potentially lethal level in avian species. Given that substantial changes in their breeding populations may occur in a limited breeding colony, ecological threats including environmental pollutants warrant attention for global conservation of these birds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Honam University, Kwangsan-gu, Kwangju 506-714, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: D-P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: K-G
authors.initials: KG
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: D-H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Nam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012098:Reproduction / Q000187:drug effects; D056910:Republic of Korea; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical