Potential Environmental Contaminant Risks to Avian Species at Important Bird Areas in the Northeastern United States

Publisher: Other (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC)) | Format: .PDF

www.pwrc.usgs.gov — From the abstract: Environmental contaminants can have profound effects on birds, acting from the molecular through population levels of biological organization. An analysis of potential contaminant threats was undertaken at 52 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) within the northeastern Atlantic coast drainage. Using geographic information system More... From the abstract: Environmental contaminants can have profound effects on birds, acting from the molecular through population levels of biological organization. An analysis of potential contaminant threats was undertaken at 52 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) within the northeastern Atlantic coast drainage. Using geographic information system methodology, data layers describing or integrating contamination (impaired waters, fish or wildlife consumption advisories, toxic release inventory sites, and estimates of pesticide use) were overlaid on buffered IBA boundaries, and the relative threat at each site was ranked. The Contaminant Exposure and Effects-Terrestrial Vertebrates database was searched within buffered IBA boundaries, and for a moderate number of sites there was concordance between the perceived risk and contaminant exposure. Based upon this screening level risk assessment, contaminant biomonitoring of birds is warranted, generating data and fostering natural resource management Less...