Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction

Joshua T. Ackerman; Collin A. Eagles-Smith; Gary Heinz; Susan E.W. De La Cruz; John Y. Takekawa; A. Keith Miles; Terrence L. Adelsbach; Mark P. Herzog; Jill D. Bluso-Demers; Scott A. Demers; Garth Herring; David J. Hoffman; Christopher A. Hartman; James J. Willacker; Thomas H. Suchanek; Steven E. Schwarzbach; Thomas C. Maurer

doi:10.3133/ofr20141251

Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction

Open-File Report 2014-1251

Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Environmental Contaminants Division

By: Joshua T. Ackerman, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Gary Heinz, Susan E.W. De La Cruz, John Y. Takekawa, A. Keith Miles, Terrence L. Adelsbach, Mark P. Herzog, Jill D. Bluso-Demers, Scott A. Demers, Garth Herring, David J. Hoffman, Christopher A. Hartman, James J. Willacker, Thomas H. Suchanek, Steven E. Schwarzbach, and Thomas C. Maurer

https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141251

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Document: Report (8.8 MB pdf)
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Abstract

San Francisco Bay Estuary in northern California has a legacy of mercury contamination, which could reduce the health and reproductive success of waterbirds in the estuary. The goal of this study was to use an integrated field and laboratory approach to evaluate the risks of mercury exposure to birds in the estuary. We examined mercury bioaccumulation, and other contaminants of concern, in five waterbird species that depend heavily on San Francisco Bay Estuary for foraging and breeding habitat: American avocets (Recurvirostra americana), black-necked stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), Forster’s terns (Sterna forsteri), Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia), and surf scoters (Melanitta perspicillata). These species have different foraging habitats and diets that represent three distinct foraging guilds within the estuary’s food web. In this report, we provide an integrated synthesis of the primary findings from this study and results are synthesized from 54 peer-reviewed publications generated to date with other unpublished results.

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Additional publication details
Publication type	Report
Publication Subtype	USGS Numbered Series
Title	Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction
Series title	Open-File Report
Series number	2014-1251
DOI	10.3133/ofr20141251
Year Published	2014
Language	English
Publisher	U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location	Reston, VA
Contributing office(s)	Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center, San Francisco Bay-Delta, Western Ecological Research Center
Description	xvi, 202 p.
Country	United States
State	California
Other Geospatial	San Francisco Bay Estuary
Online Only (Y/N)	Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N)	N
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page