Assessment of effects of PCB-contaminated floodplain soils on reproductive success of insectivorous songbirds

In the 10-yr floodplain of the Housatonic River, MA, the effects of PCB-contaminated soils on the reproductive success of insectivorous songbirds were investigated. The species examined included: American redstart, barn swallow, Eastern phoebe, rose-breasted grosbeak, American robin, red-winged blac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemosphere (Oxford) 1997-03, Vol.34 (5-7), p.1121-1137
Main Authors: HENNING, M. H, EBERT, E. S, KEENAN, R. E, MARTIN, S. G, DUNCAN, J. W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Aves
Biological and medical sciences
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In the 10-yr floodplain of the Housatonic River, MA, the effects of PCB-contaminated soils on the reproductive success of insectivorous songbirds were investigated. The species examined included: American redstart, barn swallow, Eastern phoebe, rose-breasted grosbeak, American robin, red-winged blackbird, wood thrush, and yellow warbler. The exposure of adult birds was estimated based on the concentrations of PCBs in floodplain soil and sediment samples in the vicinity of the respective nests. A simple foodweb model was also constructed to estimate the dietary intake of PCBs by barn swallows and American robins. Results showed that, in no case, were the clutch sizes significantly different between target and reference groups. Similar comparisons were found for numbers of young hatched.
ISSN:0045-6535
1879-1298
DOI:10.1016/S0045-6535(97)00413-X