The relationship between plastic ingestion and trace element concentrations in Arctic seabirds.

Seabirds ingest contaminants linked to their prey's tissues, but also adsorbed to ingested plastic debris. To explore relationships between ingested plastics and trace elements concentrations, we analyzed 25 essential non-essential trace elements in liver tissue in relation to plastic content in the gastrointestinal tract in adults of four species of Arctic seabirds with different propensity to ingest plastic. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) provided a clear separation between species based on element concentrations, but not among individuals with and without plastics.

Inter-colony variation in predation, mercury burden and adult survival in a declining seabird.

Migratory species with disjunct and localized breeding distributions, including many colonial marine birds, pose challenges for management and conservation as their dynamics are shaped by both broad oceanographic changes and specific factors affecting individual breeding colonies. We compare six colonies of the declining Leach's storm-petrel, Hydrobates leucorhous, across their core range in Atlantic Canada using standard capture-mark-recapture methods to estimate annual survival of individually marked populations of breeding adults. Over the period analysed (5-20 years per colony; 2003-2022), mean annual survival varied among colonies (0.

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds.

Plastic pollution is distributed patchily around the world's oceans. Likewise, marine organisms that are vulnerable to plastic ingestion or entanglement have uneven distributions. Understanding where wildlife encounters plastic is crucial for targeting research and mitigation.

Female and male Leach's Storm Petrels () pursue different foraging strategies during the incubation period.

Reproduction in procellariiform birds is characterized by a single egg clutch, slow development, a long breeding season and obligate biparental care. Female Leach's Storm Petrels , nearly monomorphic members of this order, produce eggs that are between 20 and 25% of adult body weight. We tested whether female foraging behaviour differs from male foraging behaviour during the ~ 44-day incubation period across seven breeding colonies in the Northwest Atlantic.

Factors influencing mercury levels in Leach's storm-petrels at northwest Atlantic colonies.

Mercury (Hg) is a globally distributed heavy metal, with negative effects on wildlife. Its most toxic form, methylmercury (MeHg), predominates in aquatic systems. Levels of MeHg in marine predators can vary widely among individuals and populations.

Mercury levels in North Atlantic seabirds: A synthesis.

Mercury (Hg) is globally-distributed, with severe toxic effects on wildlife. Methylmercury biomagnifies within food webs, so long-lived, top predators such as seabirds are prone to high mercury concentrations. We synthesized historical and contemporary data on mercury concentrations in seabirds from the North Atlantic.

Tapping into non-English-language science for the conservation of global biodiversity.

The widely held assumption that any important scientific information would be available in English underlies the underuse of non-English-language science across disciplines. However, non-English-language science is expected to bring unique and valuable scientific information, especially in disciplines where the evidence is patchy, and for emergent issues where synthesising available evidence is an urgent challenge. Yet such contribution of non-English-language science to scientific communities and the application of science is rarely quantified.

Year-round spatiotemporal distribution pattern of a threatened sea duck species breeding on Kolguev Island, south-eastern Barents Sea.

Background: The long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis) was categorized as ´Vulnerable` by the IUCN after a study revealed a rapid wintering population decline of 65% between 1992-1993 and 2007-2009 in the Baltic Sea. As knowledge about the European long-tailed duck's life cycle and movement ecology is limited, we investigate its year-round spatiotemporal distribution patterns. Specifically, we aimed to identify the wintering grounds, timing of migration and staging of this population via light-level geolocation.

Foraging areas, offshore habitat use, and colony overlap by incubating Leach's storm-petrels Oceanodroma leucorhoa in the Northwest Atlantic.

Despite their importance in marine food webs, much has yet to be learned about the spatial ecology of small seabirds. This includes the Leach's storm-petrel Oceanodroma leucorhoa, a species that is declining throughout its Northwest Atlantic breeding range. In 2013 and 2014, we used global location sensors to track foraging movements of incubating storm-petrels from 7 eastern Canadian breeding colonies.

Relationships between blood mercury levels, reproduction, and return rate in a small seabird.

Mercury (Hg) is a ubiquitous heavy metal that occurs naturally in the environment, but its levels have been supplemented for decades by a variety of human activities. Mercury can have serious deleterious effects on a variety of organisms, with top predators being particularly susceptible because methylmercury bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in food webs. Among birds, seabirds can have especially high levels of Hg contamination and Leach's storm-petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa), in particular, have amongst the highest known levels.

American dippers indicate contaminant biotransport by Pacific salmon.

Migrating salmon can increase productivity in Pacific Northwestern streams and lakes through the deposition of nutrients from their decomposing carcasses after spawning. Several studies also report simultaneous biotransport of persistent organic pollutants that have contaminated lake food webs, although no similar effect has been shown conclusively in rivers. We tested the prediction that salmon enhance contaminants in river food webs using the American dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), an aquatic songbird and a recognized indicator of stream quality.