title: Levels of Mercury in Feathers of Clapper Rails (Rallus crepitans) over 45 Years in Coastal Salt Marshes of New Hanover County, North Carolina.
abstract: We sampled clapper rail (Rallus crepitans) feathers from museum specimens collected between 1965 and 2010 to investigate changes in mercury (Hg) availability in coastal marshes of New Hanover County, North Carolina. Stable isotope analysis (δ(13)C and δ(15)N) was conducted to control for dietary shifts that may have influenced Hg exposure. Hg concentrations ranged from 0.96 to 9.22 μg/g (ppm), but showed no significant trend over time; diet (δ(15)N) or foraging habitat (δ(13)C) also provided little to no explanatory power to the variation in Hg concentrations among clapper rails. Our findings suggest the bioavailability of Hg to clapper rails in coastal North Carolina salt marshes has remained consistent over time, despite the global trend of increasing mercury in many other bird species, providing an excellent baseline for any future assessment of Hg availability to salt marsh birds in coastal North Carolina.
authors.affiliation: Arkansas Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA. aurielfournier@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Auriel M V
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fournier
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, 116 Street and 85 Avenue, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2R3, Canada.
authors.forename: Kyle James
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Welsh
authors.affiliation: Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, 1239 Energy, Coast and Environment Building, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Polito
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, 601 South College Road, Wilmington, NC, 28403, USA.
authors.forename: Steven D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Emslie
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Southeast Missouri State University, One University Plaza, MS 6200, Cape Girardeau, MO, 63701, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecka
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brasso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D009657:North Carolina; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D012965:Sodium Chloride; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Clapper rail; Mercury; Museum; Stable isotope; Wetlands