A Mercury Budget for the Bonaparte's Gull during Autumn Moult

A bioenergetics-based budget which predicts net total Hg loss during the period of autumn moult was calculated for adult Bonaparte's Gulls in the southwestern Bay of Fundy, Canada. Daily food consumption and, hence, ingestion of Hg measured in prey samples, was calculated from estimated energy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ornis Scandinavica 1987-11, Vol.18 (4), p.244-250
Main Authors: Braune, Birgit M., Gaskin, David E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Birds
Body burden
Cost estimates
Diet
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Energy requirements
Excreta
Feathers
Food
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Marine and brackish environment
Molting
Sea birds
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Summary:A bioenergetics-based budget which predicts net total Hg loss during the period of autumn moult was calculated for adult Bonaparte's Gulls in the southwestern Bay of Fundy, Canada. Daily food consumption and, hence, ingestion of Hg measured in prey samples, was calculated from estimated energy requirements during the period of moult. The amount of Hg eliminated was estimated from analyses of Hg content in excreta and feathers. Elimination of Hg via the feathers accounted for 68% of the total loss from the body in females and 59% in males during the period of autumn moult. Actual loss from the body over time was estimated as the difference between measured maximum (premoult) and minimum (postmoult) body burden of total Hg. The measured net Hg loss from the body during the period of autumn moult was 23% lower than the predicted value for females and 49% higher than the predicted value for males. The negative and positive deviations of measured Hg losses from the predicted values for the separate sexes averaged out to within 6% of the predicted value when the sexes were pooled.
ISSN:0030-5693
DOI:10.2307/3676891