An investigation of physiological effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on a long-distance migratory seabird, the northern gannet.

Exposure to oil can have long-term impacts on migratory birds. Following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), we investigated potential impacts of oil exposure on a population of northern gannets (Morus bassanus) that breed on Bonaventure Island (Québec, Canada) and winter in GOM and along the U.S. Atlantic coast (AC). Blood and feather samples were collected from adults previously equipped with geolocators to determine wintering locations. Parent and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); trace metals; stable isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen; and immune, thyroid, steroid, retinoid, and genetic endpoints were measured. PAH and trace metal concentrations did not differ between gannets using different wintering sites. Feather stable isotope values varied significantly between birds from different wintering locations. Gannets wintering in GOM showed higher feather corticosterone and plasma thyroid hormone levels, which may indicate increased energetic demands and/or greater exposure to environmental stressors.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Marine Pollution Bulletin

• Publication date

  2020-04-01

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.110953PMID 32275518
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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