title: Anthropogenic input of heavy metals in two Audouin's gull breeding colonies.
abstract: Anthropogenic activities have become an important source of heavy metals to the marine environments. Biological sentinels like seabirds' chicks have been widely used to monitorize the levels of some heavy metals. Due to its mainly marine foraging habits, Audouin's gull fits well for this purpose. Mercury and lead levels were measured in mantle feathers of Audouin's gull chicks from two colonies in NE Iberian Peninsula: the Ebro Delta and the Llobregat Delta. Both are anthropized areas subject to differential pollutant inputs. Lead levels were significantly higher in the Llobregat Delta probably due to the use of leaded fuel in the nearby Barcelona airport. On the other side, mercury concentrations were higher in the Ebro Delta, in relation with the disposal of the toxic sediments at the Flix site carried down by the Ebro River. These mercury levels in the Ebro chicks reached values that have been described as toxic.
authors.affiliation: Departament de Biologia Animal (Vertebrats), Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: m.garcia@ub.edu.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: García-Tarrasón
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pacho
authors.forename: Lluís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jover
authors.forename: Carolina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sanpera
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005241:Feathers / Q000378:metabolism; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Audouin’s gull; Aviation gasoline; Lead; Mercury; Stable isotopes