Marine pollution in fledged Leach's storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous) from Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Marine pollution in fledged Leach's storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous) from Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

The Leach's storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous) is one of the most abundant and widely distributed marine birds in the North Atlantic but is under global population decline, possibly linked to marine pollution. We determined levels of ingested plastic and hepatic total mercury (THg) in recentl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 162; p. 111842
Main Authors: Krug, David M., Frith, Rhyl, Wong, Sarah N.P., Ronconi, Robert A., Wilhelm, Sabina I., O'Driscoll, Nelson J., Mallory, Mark L.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-01-2021
Elsevier BV
Subjects:
Animals
Aquatic birds
Atlantic Ocean
Birds
Body condition
Body size
Canada
Dry weight
Environmental Monitoring
Hydrobates
Islands
Juveniles
Liver
Marine pollution
Mercury
Newfoundland and Labrador
North Atlantic Ocean
Plastic debris
Plastics
Pollutants
Pollution levels
Population decline
Sea pollution
Seabird
Seabirds
Canada
Atlantic Ocean
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland & Labrador Canada
Plastic debris
Seabird
Mercury
North Atlantic Ocean
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Summary:The Leach's storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous) is one of the most abundant and widely distributed marine birds in the North Atlantic but is under global population decline, possibly linked to marine pollution. We determined levels of ingested plastic and hepatic total mercury (THg) in recently fledged juveniles that stranded in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and assessed the relationship to body condition, size and diet. Plastic prevalence was high (87.5%) but hepatic THg was relatively low (mean 486.7 ng/g dry weight) compared to other studies. Levels of neither pollutant were significantly related to body metrics of health. Our data confirm that plastic and mercury are pervasive in the western North Atlantic Ocean, prominent even in young birds. •A mass stranding event allowed recently fledged Leach's storm-petrels to be sampled.•87.5% of recently fledged birds contained plastic pollution.•Average hepatic THg (mean 486.7 ng/g) was lower than adults.•Plastic pollution and mercury pollution were not significantly correlated with bird body condition.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111842