title: Precipitation influences on uptake of a global pollutant by a coastal avian species.
abstract: Climatic variation, including precipitation amounts and timing, has been linked to abundance and breeding success of many avian species. Less studied, but also of significance, is the consequence of climatic variability on the exposure and uptake of nutrients and contaminants by wildlife. The authors examined mercury (Hg) concentrations in nestling wood stork feathers in a coastal setting over a 16-yr period to understand the influence of rainfall amounts on Hg transfer by parental provisioning relative to habitat use, assuming differential bioavailability of Hg within freshwater and saltwater habitat types. Coastal Hg uptake by stork nestlings was linked to freshwater habitat use, as indicated by stable carbon isotope (δ(13)C) analyses. Cumulative rainfall amounts exceeding 220 cm in the 23 mo preceding the breeding seasons resulted in greater use of freshwater wetlands as foraging habitat and greater Hg accumulation by nestling storks.
authors.affiliation: Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Aiken, South Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Albert L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Bryan
authors.forename: Joel W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Snodgrass
authors.forename: Heather A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Brant
authors.forename: Christopher S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Romanek
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Jagoe
authors.forename: Gary L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.forename: I Lehr
authors.initials: IL
authors.lastname: Brisbin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D002247:Carbon Isotopes / Q000737:chemistry; D017753:Ecosystem; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes / Q000737:chemistry; D011891:Rain; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D009587:Nitrogen Isotopes; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Climate; Mercury; Rainfall; Wetlands; Wood storks