Homing pigeons externally exposed to Deepwater Horizon crude oil change flight performance and behavior

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) Vol. 230; pp. 530 - 539
• Main Authors: Perez, Cristina R., Moye, John K., Cacela, Dave, Dean, Karen M., Pritsos, Chris A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-11-2017
• Subjects: Animals; Columbidae - physiology; Deepwater Horizon; Ecosystem; Environmental Monitoring; Flight; Flight, Animal - drug effects; Gulf of Mexico; Homing Behavior - drug effects; Homing pigeons; Migration; Oil spill; Petroleum - toxicity; Petroleum Pollution - adverse effects; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Oil spill; Flight; Homing pigeons; Migration; Deepwater Horizon
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.07.008

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest in U.S. history, contaminating thousands of miles of coastal habitat and affecting the lives of many avian species. The Gulf of Mexico is a critical bird migration route area and migrants that were oiled but did not suffer mortality as a direct result of the spill faced unpredictable fates. This study utilized homing pigeons as a surrogate species for migratory birds to investigate the effects a single low level external oiling event has on the flight performance and behavior of birds flying repeated 161 km flights. Data from GPS data loggers showed that lightly oiled pigeons changed their flight paths, increased their flight durations by 2.6 fold, increased their flight distances by 28 km and subsequently decreased their route efficiencies. Oiled birds also exhibited reduced rate of weight gain between flights. Our data suggest that contaminated birds surviving the oil spill may have experienced flight impairment and reduced refueling abilities, likely reducing overall migration speed. Our findings contribute new information on how oil spills affect avian species, as the effects of oil on the flight behavior of long distance free-flying birds have not been previously described.
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•The effect of external oil on the flight feathers of homing pigeons was studied.•Flight performance was reduced after exposure to a single, light oil application.•Free-flying oiled birds coped with demanding flight by adjusting flight behaviors.•Oiled birds did not regain body mass lost between flights like unoiled birds.•Our data have important implications for migratory birds exposed to DWH oil.
The sublethal effects of low level external oiling on long distance avian flight have the potential to substantially impact survival and reproduction.