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Interactions between contaminants and the trophic ecology of two seabirds in a coastal lagoon of the Gulf of California

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Interactions between contaminants and the trophic ecology of two seabirds in a coastal lagoon of the Gulf of California
Authors: José Alfredo Castillo-Guerrero, Erick González-Medina, Alberto Piña-Ortiz, Miguel Betancourt-Lozano, Jaqueline García-Hernández, Salvador Hernández-Vázquez, Guillermo Fernández
Contributors: Universidad Complutense de Madrid
Source: Ecotoxicology
Docta Complutense
instname
Publisher Information: Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2025.
Publication Year: 2025
Subject Terms: Ecología (Biología), 2417.05 Biología Marina, 2401.20 Ornitología, Male, Food Chain, 574.5(261.26), Medio ambiente natural, 598.243, Article, Birds, Charadriiformes, Sinaloa, Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated, Animals, Leucophaeus atricilla, Pesticides, Mexico, Fregata magnificens, Trace elements, Gulf of Mexico, Mercury, 2401.06 Ecología Animal, Biología marina, 504.5, Organochlorine pesticides, Female, Aves, Water Pollutants, Chemical, Foraging ecology, Environmental Monitoring
Description: Monitoring the dynamics of contaminants in ecosystems helps understand their potential effects. Seabirds have been used as biomonitors of marine ecosystems for this purpose. However, exposure and vulnerability to pollutants are understudied in tropical species, and the relationships between various pollutants and the trophic ecology of seabirds are poorly understood. In this study, we quantified mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and organochlorine pesticide (OC) concentrations in the blood of Laughing Gulls and Magnificent Frigatebirds breeding in Bahía Santa María, México. Using carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios (δ 13C and δ 15N), we examined the interaction between contaminants and trophic ecology. Laughing Gulls exhibited higher concentrations of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (ΣDDTs), endrins (ΣDrins), and chlordanes, while Magnificent Frigatebirds had elevated levels of Hg and hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (ΣHCHs). Both species displayed temporal and sex-related variations in isotopic signatures. Some blood pollutant concentrations in Laughing Gulls were explained by diet: ΣOCs in plasma were directly related to trophic levels, indicating biomagnification, whereas higher Hg levels were associated with changes in habitat use. In contrast, the differences in sex-related isotopic signatures in Magnificent Frigatebirds did not reflect pollutant accumulation patterns, possibly due to their opportunistic feeding habits.
Document Type: Article
Other literature type
File Description: application/pdf
Language: English
ISSN: 1573-3017
0963-9292
DOI: 10.1007/s10646-025-02853-4
Access URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39804558
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/118674
Rights: CC BY
Accession Number: edsair.doi.dedup.....f2c39478d0b5c9a60fc01f1c29aa9277
Database: OpenAIRE
Description
Abstract:Monitoring the dynamics of contaminants in ecosystems helps understand their potential effects. Seabirds have been used as biomonitors of marine ecosystems for this purpose. However, exposure and vulnerability to pollutants are understudied in tropical species, and the relationships between various pollutants and the trophic ecology of seabirds are poorly understood. In this study, we quantified mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and organochlorine pesticide (OC) concentrations in the blood of Laughing Gulls and Magnificent Frigatebirds breeding in Bahía Santa María, México. Using carbon and nitrogen isotopic ratios (δ 13C and δ 15N), we examined the interaction between contaminants and trophic ecology. Laughing Gulls exhibited higher concentrations of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane and its metabolites (ΣDDTs), endrins (ΣDrins), and chlordanes, while Magnificent Frigatebirds had elevated levels of Hg and hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (ΣHCHs). Both species displayed temporal and sex-related variations in isotopic signatures. Some blood pollutant concentrations in Laughing Gulls were explained by diet: ΣOCs in plasma were directly related to trophic levels, indicating biomagnification, whereas higher Hg levels were associated with changes in habitat use. In contrast, the differences in sex-related isotopic signatures in Magnificent Frigatebirds did not reflect pollutant accumulation patterns, possibly due to their opportunistic feeding habits.
ISSN:15733017
09639292
DOI:10.1007/s10646-025-02853-4