Publications by authors named "Nico Varo"
Article Synopsis
- European black-necked grebes gather annually in the metal-polluted Odiel Marshes for moulting, raising concerns about their exposure to heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and zinc.
- Research indicates that grebes had elevated blood metal levels, primarily due to consuming brine shrimp, their main food source in this environment.
- The study finds a complex relationship between metal exposure and the grebes' health indicators, suggesting that monitoring vital bird species could help assess environmental contamination effects over time.
To reach the final host (greater flamingos), the cestode Flamingolepis liguloides alters the behaviour of its intermediate host, the brine shrimp, Artemia parthenogenetica, causing it to spend more time close to the water surface. During summer 2010, we showed that the prevalence of this cestode was consistently higher at the top of the water column in the Odiel salt pans in south-western Spain. We used stable nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) isotopic analysis to test the hypothesis that cestodes also alter resource use by Artemia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDifferences in food assimilation between two coot species assessed with stable isotopes and particle size in faeces: linking physiology and conservation.
Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol
February 2008
The red-knobbed coot Fulica cristata experienced a dramatic population decline in Spain, where the common coot F. atra does not face conservation problems. This is puzzling because both species have similar ecologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF