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Effects of Mercury on Condition and Coloration of Belted Kingfishers

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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2007 Effects of Mercury on Condition and Coloration of Belted Kingfishers Ariel Elizabeth White College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Biodiversity Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, and the Natural Resources and Conservation Commons Recommended Citation White, Ariel Elizabeth, "Effects of Mercury on Condition and Coloration of Belted Kingfishers" (2007). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539626860. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-0956-qp64 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EFFECTS OF MERCURY ON CONDITION AND COLORATION OF BELTED KINGFISHERS A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Biology The College of William &, Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Science by Ariel Elizabeth White 2007 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science ______________ CyuJjlj) ______________ Ariel White Approved, February 2007 Dan Crlstol Thesis Advisor Randy Chambers George/Gilchrist TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgments viii List of Tables x List of Figures xii Abstract xiii 1 EFFECTS OF MERCURY ON THE REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS OF BELTED KINGFISHERS (CERYLE ALCYON) 2 INTRODUCTION ....................... 2 Mercury as a Global Pollutant . 2 History of the Study Site . 4 Mercury in B ird s ............. 6 Toxicokinetics of mercury in birds . 6 Effects in birds . 8 Levels in Birds ................................. 10 Belted Kingfishers as an Indicator Species . 11 Major Objectives of this Study . 15 METHODS .......................... 15 Study Site Description . 15 South Fork Shenandoah River . 15 South River . 17 North River . 18 Middle River .......................................... 18 Nest Location and Excavation and Adult Capture . 19 Determination of Adult Age and Nestling Sex .... 21 Determination of Nestling Age and Nesting Chronology . 23 Morphological Measurements 24 Mercury Analysis . 25 Prey Collection ................................. 27 Research-related Mortality Events . 27 RESULTS.................... 28 Mercury Levels .................... 29 Adult Blood Levels . 29 Adult Feather Levels ............................. 29 Correlation Between Tissues in Adults . 32 Correlatioin between paired adults . 33 Nestling Blood Levels . 33 Nestling Feather Levels ................................. 36 Correlation Between Parents and Offspring . 36 Adult Natural History and Morphometries . 37 Age Class Distribution . 37 Recaptures .................... 38 Site Fidelity Estimate . 39 Adult Size and Condition . 40 Reproductive Parameters .... 44 Date of Clutch Initiation . 44 Clutch S ize............. 44 Number of Fledglings . 45 Sex R a tio s .................................... 45 Chick Morphometries and Growth Rates . 46 Growth Rate by Treatment Group . 46 iv Growth Rate of Individuals by Treatment Group 48 Growth Rate of Individuals by Sex 51 Fledging Size . 52 Prey Collection . 52 DISCUSSION........................................................................... 53 Comparison of Adult and Juvenile Mercury Levels . 55 Adult Morphometries . 58 Reproductive Parameters ....................... 60 Chick Morphometries and Growth Rates . 63 Prey Items . 64 2 THE EFFECT OF MERCURY ON AVIAN COLORATION 66 INTRODUCTION ................................. 66 Mechanisms of Feather Coloration . 66 Functions of Plumage Coloration . 67 Pollution and Bird Coloration . 69 Coloration of Study Species . 71 Belted Kingfishers 71 Eastern Bluebird . 72 Tree Swallow .................... 73 Major Objectives of This Study . 73 METHODS ........................................................... 73 Feather Collection for Spectral Analysis . 74 Belted Kingfishers 74 Eastern Bluebirds . 74 Tree Swallows . 74 Melanized Feathers . 75 Color Analysis . 75 v Color measurement .... 75 Colormetric Variables . 76 Spectral Analyses ... 77 Mercury Analysis .................... 77 RESULTS................................. 78 Adult Belted Kingfishers . 78 Blue B a c k ............. 78 Blue Chest ... 82 White Chest ... 83 Brown Chest ....................... 84 Eastern Bluebirds ............................. 84 Blue B a c k .................................... 85 White Chest............................. 86 Brown Chest ............................. 88 Tree Swallows ................................. 89 Green B a c k .......................... 90 White Chest.......................... 92 Juvenile Belted Kingfishers .................... 92 DISCUSSION......................................................................................................... 92 Changes in Coloration with Changes in Feather Mercury Concentrations 92 Correlation between Melanin and Mercury Concentrations . 95 Sex Differences ............................. 96 APPENDICIES 98 A 98 B 101 vi C 103 D 104 REFERENCES 106 VITA 119 vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was generously supported by grants from DuPont and logistical assistance was provided by the South River Science Team. Additional funding from the Williamsburg Bird Club and an endowed professorship for Dan Cristol was used for feather color analyses. I am grateful for the guidance and intense dedication to my project provided Dan Cristol. In addition, I would like to thank my committee members, Drs. George Gilchrist and Randy Chambers, for their time and assistance. I would like to thank 0 . Lane (of Biodiversity Research Institute) for teaching me the basics of kingfisher nest excavation. I would like to thank the undergraduates that helped with this project both in excavating nests and canoeing the river especially R. Fovargue, R. Jefferson-George, K. Hallinger, S. Koebley, A. Monroe, and J. Reese. Other volunteer canoe partners included C. Auckerman, A. Finfera, S. Hoskin, and M. Smith. I would like to thank the graduate students of the Cristol lab including R. Brasso, A. Condon, and S. Friedman for their support and help in the field. M. Howie and B. Schmidt identified all fish collected. Because kingfishers choose their nesting sites (and I could not), I would like to thank the many landowners living in the Shenandoah Valley that generously allowed me to dig holes in their property. I would also like to thank R. Taylor and D. Dooley and the Trace Elements Research Laboratory at Texas AVM for allowing me to analyze my feather samples using their equipment. LIST OF TABLES 1.1 Pearson correlations between feathers from adult belted kingfishers. 31 1.2 Between and within brood blood mercury variation. 35 1.3 Distribution of age classes by sex on each section of river .............. 38 1.4 Fidelity to the South River as determined by stability of feather mer­ cury concentrations. ....................... 40 1.5 Comparisons of adult morphological measurements ............................ 41 1.6 Factor loading for the principal components analysis of the morpho­ logical measurements taken on adult kingfishers . 42 1.7 Fledging size of kingfisher chicks................................................................. 53 1.8 Number and foraging guild of fish species collected on the South River, the South Fork of the Shenandoah River, and the Middle and North Rivers. 54 2.1 Pearson correlations between colormetric variables from belted king­ fisher feathers. 79 2.2 Correlation between principal component (PC) scores and colormetric variables for four body regions of belted kingfisher ......................... 80 2.3 ANOVA values and regressions of principal components (PCs) between sex and feather mercury concentrations in the belted kingfisher. 82 2.4 Pearson correlations between colormetric variables from eastern blue­ bird feathers . 85 2.5 Correlation between principal component (PC) scores and colormetric variables for three body regions of eastern bluebirds. 86 2.6 ANOVA values and regressions of principal components (PCs) between sex and feather mercury concentrations in the eastern bluebird. 88 ix 2.7 Pearson correlations between colormetric variables from female tree swallow feath ers.......................... 89 2.8 Correlation between principal component (PC) scores and colormetric variables for two body regions of female tree swallows ...................... 90 2.9 ANOVA values and regressions of principal components (PCs) and feather mercury concentrations in tree swallows. 91 A.l Mercury values in tissues of piscivorous birds and mammals ............. 98 A.2 Mercury values in tissues of piscivorous birds and mammals (continued). 99 A.3 Mercury values in tissues of piscivorous birds and mammals (continued). 100 B.l Kingfisher nesting sites and locations ......................... 101 B.2 Kingfisher nesting sites and locations (continued). 102 C.l Means correlations and ratios between blood and feathers collected on the South River . 103 D.l Index of prey captured by kingfishers ........................ 104 D.2 Index of prey captured by kingfishers (continued). 105 x LIST OF FIGURES 1.1 Entrance to an active kingfisher nest. 13 1.2 Map of the study area ....................................... 16 1.3 Accessing the chamber of a belted
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