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Mercury Contamination in the Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis

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Mercury Contamination in the Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis EFFECTS OF MERCURY CONTAMINATION ON INDIVIDUAL QUALITY AND CONDITION OF COMMON YELLOWTHROATS (GEOTHLYPIS TRICHAS) A University Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, East Bay In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Biology By Deanna de Castro June, 2014 Deanna de Castro © 2014 ii ABSTRACT Historic mines in New Almaden, CA such as the New Almaden Quicksilver Mine (NAQM), are a source of mercury contamination throughout South San Francisco Bay, California. Mines in this area drain into the Coyote Creek (CC) and Guadalupe River (GR). Water quality and sediment assessments for mercury show increasing levels with increasing proximity to the New Almaden. Tellingly, birds captured at upper GR and CC had some of the highest reported concentrations of mercury in the feathers and blood within the United States. Thus, organisms living within the riparian habitats along the CC, GR, and their tributaries may be affected by local environmental mercury. This study investigates of the feather mercury from Common Yellowthroats (Geothlypis trichas) caught at varying distances from NAQM and the relationship between feather mercury and of body condition and individual quality. Birds in upper GR and CC and at Llagas Creek had higher mass, primary wear, and rectrice wear compared to birds in lower CC and GR. Bib size and fluctuating asymmetry of barbule density in rectrices was greater in birds located in CC and GR. Hue of bib feathers was significantly greater in birds caught at lower GR and CC and upper CC. Total mercury concentrations in rectrices were highest in birds caught in upper GR. All comparisons were significant with a p-value of less than or equal to 0.05. iii EFFECTS OF MERCURY CONTAMINATION ON INDIVIDUAL QUALITY AND CONDITION OF COMMON YELOWTHROATS (GEOTHLYPIS TRICHAS) By Deanna de Castro Approved: Date: _________________________________ __________________________ Dr. Caron Inouye _________________________________ __________________________ Dr. Danika LeDuc _________________________________ __________________________ Dr. Erica Wildy iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Caron Inouye, for providing invaluable advice and insight on my project and academic and professional career. Thank you to Drs. Danika LeDuc and Erica Wildy for their guidance on the chemical and ecological facets of my research. Also, I would like to thank my entire committee for their patience and encouragement when I was struggling most. Many thanks to SFBBO’s Josh Scullen and Jill Demers for their generosity and advice for a successful field season. Thank you to Ryan BourBour, Corey Clatterbuck, Allison Greggor and Breanna Martinico for enduring those early mornings with me. Thank you to MPSL’s Jessica Masek and Wes Heim. MPSL very kindly offered their help and equipment in order for me to analyze my feathers. I would also like to thank Dr. Ed Pizzini for his advice on analytical chemistry and mercury assays. Thanks to Bill Roan and Sharon Horgan for procuring materials for my analyses and encouragement. Thank you Sherita Black and Kristian Salcedo for helping me with my image analysis. Last but not least, I would like to thank my family and Kala Wong for their support and love. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES..................................................................................................... viii INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 Overview ............................................................................................................. 1 Biochemistry and environmental behavior of mercury .......................................... 3 Physiology of methylmercury ............................................................................... 9 Mercury contamination in Santa Clara Valley, CA............................................ 10 Effects of environmental contamination in passerine birds ................................. 13 PURPOSE OF STUDY ................................................................................................ 19 METHODS .................................................................................................................. 21 Field site selection .............................................................................................. 21 Sample collection ............................................................................................... 24 Sample processing .............................................................................................. 25 Image analysis ................................................................................................... 26 Feather mercury analysis ................................................................................... 28 Morphometric and statistical analysis ................................................................ 28 RESULTS ..................................................................................................................... 31 Primary and rectrice feather wear ...................................................................... 31 Fluctuating asymmetry of barbule density ........................................................ 31 Bib area and bib hue ........................................................................................... 32 Structural size ................................................................................................... 39 Total mercury in feathers ................................................................................... 39 DISCUSSION .............................................................................................................. 43 Primary and rectrice feather wear ...................................................................... 43 Fluctuating asymmetry of barbule density ......................................................... 44 Bib area and bib hue ........................................................................................... 46 Structural size ................................................................................................... 47 vi CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................... 49 LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................................. 52 APPENDIX .................................................................................................................. 64 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. A simplified diagram of the mercury biogeochemical cycle.................... 8 Figure 2. Mercury biogeochemical cycling in a lake watershed .............................. 8 Figure 3. Map of streams and associated tributaries .............................................. 12 Figure 4. Diagram of avian tarsus ............................................................................ 15 Figure 5. Diagram of a wing chord .......................................................................... 15 Figure 6. Map of field sites in relation to one another and nearby cities .............. 23 Figure 7. Illustration of parts of a feather ................................................................ 27 Figure 8. Primary wear score and rectrice wear by stream location ..................... 34 Figure 9. Primary wear score and rectrice wear by field site ................................. 35 Figure 10. FA of barbule density in rectrice feathers .............................................. 36 Figure 11. Bib area of birds by stream locations and field site.............................. 37 Figure 12. Bib hue of birds by stream location and field site ................................. 38 Figure 13. Structural size of birds by stream location and field site ..................... 41 Figure 14. Total Hg in feathers of birds by stream location and field site ............ 42 viii 1 INTRODUCTION Overview Awareness of environmental contamination by mercury occurred in the 1950’s when people living and working in Minamata Bay, Japan became sick with what became to be known as Minamata disease. The Minamata Research Group recognized that the disease was related to consumption of marine plants and animals. Villagers in the area began observing strange behaviors from fish, birds, and cats. In particular, cats would have difficulties walking and suffer from convulsions. These same symptoms were experienced by people with Minamata disease in addition to sensory and auditory disturbances, tunnel vision, and tremors (Harada, 1995). The cause of Minamata disease was determined to be methyl-mercury (MeHg) exposure after examination of the affected cats and from efforts identifying past medical conditions with similar symptoms shown by those in Minamata Bay in previous literature (Harada, 1995). The source of the MeHg was identified to be from the Chisso Minamata industrial plant which was using mercury as a catalyst. The plant had been dumping waste into the Minamata Bay and neglected to investigate potential impacts of the dumped chemicals on the environment. As a result, mercury had 2 accumulated over decades in food items that supplied the village (Grandjean, Satoh, Murata,
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