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Mercury Assessment of Saltmarsh Sparrows on Long Island, New York, 2010–2011

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Mercury Assessment of Saltmarsh Sparrows on Long Island, New York, 2010–2011 New York State Energy Research and Development Authority Mercury Assessment of Saltmarsh Sparrows on Long Island, New York, 2010–2011 Final Report June 2012 No. 12-12 NYSERDA’s Promise to New Yorkers: New Yorkers can count on NYSERDA for objective, reliable, energy-related solutions delivered by accessible,dedicated professionals. Our Mission: Advance innovative energy solutions in ways that improve New York’s economy and environment. Our Vision: Serve as a catalyst—advancing energy innovation and technology, transforming New York’s economy, and empowering people to choose clean and efficient energy as part of their everyday lives. Our Core Values: Objectivity, integrity, public service, and innovation. Our Portfolios NYSERDA programs are organized into five portfolios, each representing a complementary group of offerings with common areas of energy-related focus and objectives. 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MERCURY ASSESSMENT OF SALTMARSH SPARROWS ON LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, 2010-2011 Final Report Prepared for the NEW YORK STATE ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Albany, NY nyserda.ny.gov Gregory Lampman Project Manager Prepared by: BIODIVERSITY RESEARCH INSTITUTE Oksana Lane Sam Edmonds David Buck Kevin Regan NYSERDA NYSERDA 11139 June 2012 Report 12-12 Table of Contents 1. LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... IV 2. LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................................ IV 3. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ ES-1 4. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 5. STUDY AREA ............................................................................................................................................. 2 6. METHODS ................................................................................................................................................ 3 BIRD CAPTURE AND TISSUE SAMPLING .....................................................................................................................3 INVERTEBRATE PREY ITEM CAPTURE.........................................................................................................................4 LAB ANALYSIS ...................................................................................................................................................... 5 Avian tissues mercury analysis .......................................................................................................... 5 Invertebrate total and methylmercury analyses ...............................................................................6 Stable isotope analyses ..................................................................................................................... 6 STATISTICAL ANALYSES ........................................................................................................................................... 8 7. RESULTS ................................................................................................................................................... 8 AVIAN MERCURY EXPOSURE ................................................................................................................................... 8 Blood Hg Concentrations ................................................................................................................... 8 Feather Hg Concentrations ............................................................................................................. 12 Blood – Feather Hg Relationship ..................................................................................................... 15 Invertebrate Mercury Concentrations ............................................................................................. 17 BIOACCUMULATION OF HG IN SALTMARSH SPARROWS ..............................................................................................20 8. DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................................... 26 MERCURY AS A STRESSOR FOR SALTMARSH SPARROWS ON LONG ISLAND......................................................................26 9. RECOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 30 10. LITERATURE CITED.................................................................................................................................. 31 iii List of Figures Figure 1. Saltmarsh sparrow sampling locations, Long Island, New York, 2010-2011 ................... 3 Figure 2. Blood sample collection from a Saltmarsh Sparrow. ....................................................... 4 Figure 3. Quantile boxplots of Saltmarsh Sparrow blood-Hg (μg/g ww) from Long Island NY, 2010-2011 ............................................................................................... 10 Figure 4. Quantile boxplots of Saltmarsh Sparrow primary feather (P1)-Hg (μg/g ww) from Long Island NY, 2010-2011. ...................................................................................... 14 Figure 5. Comparison of P1 Hg versus blood Hg in Saltmarsh Sparrows from Long Island NY ................................................................................................................... 16 Figure 6. Amphipod from a salt marsh ......................................................................................... 18 Figure 7. Quantile boxplots of methyl-Hg for invertebrates collected at The Nature Conservancy and Hempstead sites ................................................................................... 19 Figure 8. Quantile boxplots of percent methyl-Hg of total-Hg in invertebrates collected at the Nature Conservancy and Hempstead sites ............................................................ 20 Figure 9. Isotope biplots for SALS on Long Island marshes (2010-2011) showing the distribution of stable carbon (613C) and stable nitrogen (615N) concentrations in Saltmarsh Sparrows across the seven study marshes ...................................................... 22 Figure 10. Relationship between bird blood Hg concentrations and 615N values in Saltmarsh Sparrows from Long Island, NY ........................................................................ 24 Figure 11. 615N vs. methylmercury concentrations in target invertebrate taxa and Saltmarsh Sparrows on Long Island marshes (2010-2011) . ............................................. 25 Figure 12. Quantile boxplots of Saltmarsh Sparrows blood Hg (μg/g, wet wt) sampled from all New England states and Long Island Sites .......................................................... 27 Figure 13. Seasonal distribution maps for Saltmarsh and Seaside Sparrows ............................... 29 List of Tables Table 1. Summary table of species captured by site and age on Long Island, NY in July of 2010 and 2011 .................................................................................................................... 9 Table 2. Summary of mean, lowest and highest blood and feather (P1 and R6) mercury concentrations (μg g-1) in adult birds by year, site, and species ...................................... 11 Table 3. Summary of nonparametric comparisons of SALS blood Hg concentrations ................. 12 Table 4. Summary of nonparametric comparisons of SALS P1 feather Hg concentrations ......... 13 Table 5. Percent of adult SALS sampled in 2010-2011 from the New York study sites exceeding levels that cause reductions in reproductive success ..................................... 17 Table 6. Mercury concentrations in recaptured SALS from Pine Neck Reserve,
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