| shell thinning and residues of organochlorines and mercury in seabird eggs, eastern canada, 1970-76. | organochlorine and mercury concentrations are reported for 252 eggs of leach's storm-petrel (oceanodroma leucorhoa), double-crested cormorant (phalarocorax auritus), common eider (somateria mollissima), common tern (sterna hirundo), razorbill (alca torda), common murre (uria aalge) black guillemot (cepphus grylle), and atlantic puffin (fratercula arctica) from the bay of fundy, the gulf of st. lawrence, and the open atlantic shore of canada during 1970-76. concentrations of all organochlorines e ... | 1979 | 117427 |
| sexual behavior and plasma androgen concentrations in the male eider duck (somateria mollissima). | eider ducks showed clear tidal and seasonal cycles of display when involved in pair-formation behaviour. plasma androgen (testosterone and dihydrotestosterone) concentrations did not follow similar tidal cycles but there was a 4-fold increase of androgen in spring when rates of display increased 2-fold. there was no difference in androgen levels in blood samples taken from paired birds before and after coitus. androgens therefore appear to be essential for the expression of sexual behaviour, bu ... | 1977 | 557550 |
| avian cholera in eider ducks in maine. | outbreaks of avian cholera (pasteurella multocida) occur frequently in common eiders (somateria mollissima dresseri) in maine during early summer. studies over a seven year period show that over 90% of the loss occurred in incubating females and might be associated with their weakened condition because females do not feed during the incubation period. high nesting densities also may contribute to the losses. the exact source of p. multocida is unknown although carrier birds were found. | 1978 | 650794 |
| chemical and morphological studies of liver from eider (somateria mollissima) in svalbard with special reference to the distribution of copper. | specimens of male and brooding female eider (somateria mollissima) were collected in svalbard. chemical analyses revealed hepatic copper concentrations ranging from 20 to 1050 micrograms per g wet weight. this is in agreement with previous results. the selenium, zinc and cadmium values were equal to or slightly higher than previously recorded. it is suggested that the wide variation in copper concentration is a result of differences in intake of copper-containing food among the birds. high selen ... | 1990 | 2365857 |
| profilicollis botulus (van cleave, 1916) from diving ducks and shore crabs of british columbia. | adults of profilicollis botulus were found in 6 species of diving ducks in british columbia including 3 new hosts: common goldeneye, bucephala clangula (l.); barrow's goldeneye, b. islandica (gmelin); and greater scaup, aythya marila (l.). the identification of the species was verified by the examination of co-types and specimens from eider ducks, somateria mollissima (l.), from scotland and oldsquaw, clangula hyemalis (l.), from new brunswick. cystacanths from the hairy shore crab, hemigrapsus ... | 1989 | 2918442 |
| lead fragments in tissues from wild birds: a cause of misleading analytical results. | seriously damaged eider ducks (somateria mollissima) and long-tailed ducks (clangula hyemalis) were shot in connection with an oil spill in 1974. liver and kidney tissues were analyzed for environmental pollutants and lead analysis gave irreproducible results. by means of x-ray photographs, x-ray-dense particles could be observed in the tissues. the foreign particles were extracted by dissolution of the organ tissues in soluene-350 (packard instruments co. inc) and then washed with toluene. the ... | 1986 | 3810131 |
| in search of biomonitors for cadmium: cadmium content of wild swedish fauna during 1973-1976. | forty-five species of birds and 22 species of mammals of the terrestrial and aquatic fauna, herbivores as well as carnivores, were investigated during the period 1973-1976 for cadmium-accumulating properties in order to find biomonitors for cadmium in the swedish environment. the herbivores of the terrestrial fauna, birds as well as mammals, are preferred to carnivores, since they demonstrate generally higher renal cd levels. the moose (alces alces), roe deer (capreolus capreolus) and hare (lepu ... | 1986 | 3810147 |
| profilicollis botulus (acanthocephala) abundance in the eider duck (somateria mollissima) on the ythan estuary, aberdeenshire. | the abundance of profilicollis botulus was monitored in eider ducks for 3 years. no significant difference in p. botulus abundance was found between eiders taken alive and those collected dead from the shore line, or between adult males and adult females. adult male eiders had a seasonal pattern of infection. incubating female eiders lost their infection in almost all cases, suggesting that a seasonal pattern of infection must also occur in these birds. eiders in their first winter had p. botulu ... | 1985 | 4080420 |
| levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (pcb) and organochlorine insecticides in eggs from eider (somateria mollissima). | | 1973 | 4199485 |
| interaction between early experience and depth avoidance in young eider ducks (somateria mollissima l.). | | 1974 | 4817519 |
| lactate dehydrogenase in diving animals--a comparative study with special reference to the eider (somateria mollissima). | | 1971 | 5133336 |
| the morphology and life-history of notocotylus atlanticus n. sp., a digenetic trematode of eider ducks, somateria mollissima, and the designation, notocotylus duboisi nom. nov., for notocotylus imbricatus (looss, 1893) szidat, 1935. | | 1966 | 5979663 |
| leucocytozoon simondi infection in european and american eiders. | an adult european eider (somateria mollissima mollissima) died at the st louis zoo and was found to be infected with numerous blood and tissue stages of leucocytozoon simondi. necropsy revealed massive air sac aspergillosis, but histologic examination revealed a diffusely distributed protozoon organism that was identified as l simondi. examination of tissues from a previously necropsied european eider and from 2 american eiders (somateria mollissima dresseri) that later died also revealed eviden ... | 1983 | 6417090 |
| heavy metals (cadmium, copper, lead and mercury) in common eiders (somateria mollissima) from denmark. | in an examination of 50 danish common eiders, the liver and kidney content of cadmium, copper, lead and mercury was determined. eiders were chosen for analysis, because this species feed almost exclusively on the common mussel (mytilus edulis), which is known to accumulate heavy metals. the concentrations recorded of cadmium, copper, and mercury were lower than what is usually regarded as toxic for birds, except for one eider which carried more than 2000 mg copper/kg liver tissue (dry weight). o ... | 1983 | 6674934 |
| in vitro metabolism of 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl in relation to ethoxyresorufin-o-deethylase activity in liver microsomes of some wildlife species and rat. | a qualitative study was performed of the capacity of hepatic microsomes of several wildlife species to metabolize 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (tcb). hepatic microsomes of species environmentally exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs): harbour porpoise (phocoena phocoena), harbour seal (phoca vitulina), common tern (sterna hirundo), and hepatic microsomes from species experimentally exposed to pcbs: eider duck (somateria mollissima), rainbow trout (salmo gairdneri), flounder (platichthys f ... | 1994 | 8039554 |
| ethoxyresorufin o-deethylase (erod) and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (ahh)-inducing potency and lethality of chlorinated naphthalenes in chicken (gallus domesticus) and eider duck (somateria mollissima) embryos. | the 7-ethoxyresorufin o-deethylase (erod)- and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (ahh)-inducing potencies and lethalities of a technical preparation of polychlorinated naphthalenes (pcns) (halowax 1014, approximate congener ratio: 20% tetrachloronaphthalenes, 40% pentachloronaphthalenes, 40% hexachloronaphthalenes), a mixture of 50% 1,2,3,5,6,7-hexachloronaphthalene and 50% 1,2,3,4,6,7-hexachloronaphthalene (hxcn-mix), and 1,2,3,4,5,6,7-heptachloronaphthalene (hpcn) were studied in chicken (gallus do ... | 1994 | 8166603 |
| the shivering response during cross-circulation in the common eider duck (somateria mollissima). | the possible role of humoral factors in the control of shivering in the common eider duck (somateria mollissima) was investigated using a cross-circulation technique. pairs of animals were coupled so that the arterial system of one animal was connected to the venous system of the other. the rate of blood transferral was 12.8 ml min-1. by adequate heparinization of the extracorporeal blood supply, cross-circulation could be maintained for periods of up to 12 h. the temperature of blood entering e ... | 1993 | 8213187 |
| mortality associated with renal and intestinal coccidiosis in juvenile eiders in iceland. | the cause of unusual mortality observed in late june 1993 among hundreds of eider-ducklings (somateria mollissima) originating from a colony of approximately 600 breeding eider ducks at bildudalur, west-iceland, was studied. the mortality occurred two weeks after a large-scale washing of gravel was initiated in a river-bed close to the colony. as a consequence marked environmental changes occurred in the area when a mud-layer gradually accumulated on the sea-bed around the colony. necropsies, ba ... | 1997 | 9802087 |
| novel primers for the mitochondrial control region and its homologous nuclear pseudogene in the eider duck somateria mollissima. | | 1998 | 9883523 |
| relationships between kidney mass and body size in some anseriformes. | relationships between kidney mass (km) and body mass (bm), body length (bl), and sternum length (sl) were studied in adults of both sexes of 4 mergini anseriforms: clangula hyemalis (n = 74), melanitta fusca (n = 29), m. nigra (n = 15), and somateria mollissima (n = 8). the following indices were established for the four species and for the mergini tribe: km/bm (as per cent body mass), km/bl, and km/sl. additionally, allometric equations describing the relationships studied were developed for th ... | 1999 | 10208037 |
| an experimental study on the effects of polymorphiasis in common eider ducklings. | eight common eider (somateria mollissima) ducklings were experimentally infected from 1 june through 13 june, 1995 with acanthocephalans (polymorphus minutus) by allowing the birds to feed on gammarus spp. (gammarus oceanicus, g. salinus, g. zaddachi, and g. lacustris) containing acanthocephalan cystacanths. uninfected gammarus spp. were fed to a control group of seven ducklings. no mortality of ducklings occurred during the experiment. however, the infected ducklings gained weight more slowly t ... | 1999 | 10479080 |
| estimation of the rate of oxygen consumption of the common eider duck (somateria mollissima), with some measurements of heart rate during voluntary dives. | the relationship between heart rate (f(h)) and rate of oxygen consumption (v(o2)) was established for a marine diving bird, the common eider duck (somateria mollissima), during steady-state swimming and running exercise. both variables increased exponentially with speed during swimming and in a linear fashion during running. eleven linear regressions of v(o2) (ml kg(-1 )min(-1)) on f(h) (beats min(-1)) were obtained: five by swimming and six by running the birds. the common regression was descri ... | 2000 | 10952881 |
| use of serum biochemistry to evaluate nutritional status and health of incubating common eiders (somateria mollissima) in finland. | during 1997-1999, we collected serum samples from 156 common eider (somateria mollissima) females incubating eggs in the finnish archipelago of the baltic sea. we used serum chemistry profiles to evaluate metabolic changes in eiders during incubation and to compare the health and nutritional status of birds nesting at a breeding area where the eider population has declined by over 50% during the past decade, with birds nesting at two areas with stable populations. several changes in serum chemis ... | 2001 | 11331505 |
| [on a helminthofauna of seabirds of the archangelskaya bay ( northern island of novaya zemlya)]. | in the archangelskaya bay (north island of novaya zemlya), 25 specimens of sea birds have been collected: 5 kittiwakes, 5 murres, 5 little auks, 4 common eiders, 4 purple sandpipers, and 2 glaucous gulls. following numbers of helminth parasite species have been recovered in this material: trematodes--1, cestodes--5, proboscic worms--2, and nematodes--2 species. the description of morphological characters of anomotaenia micracantha micracantha (cestoda: dilepididae) from the kittiwake is given. t ... | 2001 | 11548578 |
| [treatment of breast injuries in marine ducks hospitalized at a wildlife shelter]. | seabirds kept in care centers frequently show secondary lesions subsequent to detention conditions: this is the case with scabs. these scabs are very often looked upon as a cause for euthanasia, mainly after an ecological disaster, such as an oil spill, when the number of oiled birds is very large. seaducks (melanitta nigra, melanitta fuscus, somateria mollissima) were very numerous at the veterinary school of nantes after the wreck of the tanker erika in december 1999. a protocol for the treatm ... | 2001 | 11565370 |
| trace elements in king eiders and common eiders in the canadian arctic. | we determined concentrations of selected trace elements in tissues of king and common eiders at three locations in the canadian arctic. renal and hepatic cadmium concentrations in king eiders at a location in the eastern arctic were among the highest ever recorded in eider ducks: there, they were higher in king eiders than in common eiders. cadmium concentrations were lower in king eiders from the western arctic than in those from the east. in the western arctic, cadmium concentrations did not d ... | 2001 | 11598787 |
| concentrations of cadmium, mercury and selenium in blood, liver and kidney of common eider ducks from the canadian arctic. | we determined concentrations of selected trace elements in livers, kidneys and blood samples from common eiders (somateria mollissima borealis) from the eastern canadian arctic during 1997 and 1998. concentrations of total mercury and organic mercury were generally low in the livers of these birds (less than 6 and 4 microg g(-1) dry wt, respectively). selenium ranged between 11-47 microg g(-1) in livers. renal cadmium concentrations were among the highest ever published for this species (range: ... | 2001 | 11683231 |
| temperature and heart rate as stress indicators of handled common eider. | three eider ducks were handled every 4 min for 16 min to measure their cloacal temperature. this simple handling triggered a rise in their core temperatures from 41.5+/-0.6 degrees c at minute 0 to 43.5+/-0.5 degrees c at minute 16. this increase in body temperature occurred with no obvious motor load from the eiders, but was facilitated by peripheral vasoconstriction and, moreover, was blocked significantly by salicylate, suggesting that the increase in temperature was due to fever. after 10 da ... | 2001 | 11790407 |
| isolation and characterization of a reovirus from common eiders (somateria mollissima) from finland. | samples of brain, intestine, liver, lung, spleen, and bursa of fabricius were collected from five common eider (somateria mollissima) duckling carcasses during a die-off in the western gulf of finland (59 degrees 50'n, 23 degrees 15'e) in june 1996. no viral activity was observed in specific-pathogen-free chicken embryos inoculated with tissue suspensions, but samples of bursa of fabricius from three birds were positive when inoculated into muscovy duck (cairina moschata) embryo fibroblasts. the ... | 2002 | 12061662 |
| environmental contaminants in four eider species from alaska and arctic russia. | population declines in four species of eider; common (somateria mollissima), king (somateria spectabilis), spectacled (somateria fischeri) and steller's (polysticta stelleri), have raised concerns about exposure to contaminants. livers and kidney tissues were collected from eiders in alaska and russia for organic and elemental analyses. results showed that organochlorine and many elemental levels were below toxic thresholds; however, in many cases, cadmium, copper, lead and serenium appeared hig ... | 2002 | 12152828 |
| immune function, stress response, and body condition in arctic-breeding common eiders in relation to cadmium, mercury, and selenium concentrations. | we examined relationships between trace metal concentrations in tissues of common eider ducks (cadmium, mercury, and selenium) and selected biomarkers of health (stress response, immune function, and body condition). this study was conducted at an eider nesting colony in the canadian arctic in 1998 and 1999. capture-induced stress, measured as the rise in corticosterone concentrations following capture, was positively related (p=0.03) to renal cadmium concentration in 1998 when incubating eiders ... | 2002 | 12359190 |
| differential investment and costs during avian incubation determined by individual quality: an experimental study of the common eider (somateria mollissima). | individuals of different quality may have different investment strategies, shaping responses to experimental manipulations, thereby rendering the detection of such patterns difficult. however, previous clutch-size manipulation studies have infrequently incorporated individual differences in quality. to examine costs of incubation and reproductive investment in relation to changes in clutch size, we enlarged and reduced natural clutch sizes of four and five eggs by one egg early in the incubation ... | 2003 | 12641909 |
| an adenovirus associated with intestinal impaction and mortality of male common eiders (somateria mollissima) in the baltic sea. | we examined 10 common eider (somateria mollissima) males found dead in 1998 during a die-off in the northern baltic sea off the southwestern coast of finland. we diagnosed impaction of the posterior small intestine with mucosal necrosis as the cause of death in all 10 and isolated adenoviruses from cloacal samples of six birds. the adenovirus isolates were not neutralized by reference antisera to group i, ii, or iii avian adenoviruses. cloacal swabs from 22 apparently healthy eider females nesti ... | 2003 | 12685074 |
| biomarker responses in nesting, common eiders in the canadian arctic in relation to tissue cadmium, mercury and selenium concentrations. | populations of many north american sea ducks are declining. biomarkers may offer valuable insights regarding the health and fitness of sea ducks in relation to contaminant burdens. in this study we examined body condition, immune function, corticosterone stress response, liver glycogen levels and vitamin a status in relation to tissue concentrations of mercury, selenium and cadmium in female common eiders during the nesting period. the study was conducted in the eastern canadian arctic during ju ... | 2003 | 12739870 |
| bird skins in museum collections: are they suitable as indicators of environmental metal load after conservation procedures? | to find out whether modern conservation treatments alter the level of metals in feathers, we analysed the content of 10 metals in feathers before and after skins were washed with detergent and treated with eulan u-33 (a commonly used preservative at museums). feathers of 31 birds of goshawk accipiter gentilis, eagle owl bubo bubo. feral pigeon columba livia domest, and common eider somateria mollissima were analysed. we found that in most cases metals were partly washed out of the feathers, but ... | 2003 | 12889635 |
| high human exposure to lead through consumption of birds hunted with lead shot. | we assess lead contamination of greenland seabirds killed with lead shot having studied thick-billed murre and common eider, the two most important species in the diet. the lead concentration is very high in meat of eiders killed with lead shot (mean 6.1 microg/g-wet wt, 95% cl 2.1-12). this level is about 44 times higher than in drowned eiders and eight times higher than in shot murres. analyzing whole breasts instead of sub-samples reveals about seven times higher lead levels in birds' meat. w ... | 2004 | 14554002 |
| pasteurella multocida from outbreaks of avian cholera in wild and captive birds in denmark. | an outbreak of avian cholera was observed among wild birds in a few localities in denmark in 2001. the highest mortalities were among breeding eiders (somateria mollissima) and gulls (larus spp.). pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (pfge) was conducted using apai and smai as restriction enzymes and restriction enzyme analysis (rea) using hpaii. the pasteurella multocida subsp. multocida strain isolated from birds in this outbreak was indistinguishable from a strain that caused outbreaks in 1996 an ... | 2003 | 14733275 |
| contaminants in molting long-tailed ducks and nesting common eiders in the beaufort sea. | in 2000, we collected blood from long-tailed ducks (clangula hyemalis) and blood and eggs from common eiders (somateria mollissima) at near-shore islands in the vicinity of prudhoe bay, alaska, and at a reference area east of prudhoe bay. blood was analyzed for trace elements and egg contents were analyzed for trace elements, organochlorine pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. except for se (mean=36.1 microg/g dry weight (dw) in common eiders and 48.8 micr ... | 2004 | 14980466 |
| toxic and biochemical effects of 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (cb-77) and clophen a50 on eider duckling (somateria mollissima) in a semi-field experiment. | in this study the possible toxic and biochemical effects of one intraperitoneal dose of 5 or 50 mg kg(-1) of 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (cb-77) or 50 or 200 mg kg(-1) of clophen a50 (cloa50) on 28-day-old eider ducklings (somateria mollissima) were investigated. after ten days, no significant differences could be observed in any of the toxic and biochemical parameters studied, apart from ethoxyresorufin (erod) activity, when comparing group average values of the dosed and control animals. how ... | 1994 | 15091645 |
| embryotoxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs) in three domestic avian species, and of pahs and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs) in the common eider. | the embryotoxicity of an artificial mixture of 18 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs) was tested by injection into the yolk sacs of eggs of four avian species: chicken gallus domesticus, turkey meleagris gallopavo, domestic duck anas platyrhynchos and common eider somateria mollissima. a dose of 2.0 mg kg egg(-1) of the pah mixture increased the mortality among the embryos of all four species. in the domestic duck, but not in the three other species, there was a significantly increased embry ... | 1990 | 15092218 |
| mitochondrial dna and microsatellite variation in the eider duck (somateria mollissima) indicate stepwise postglacial colonization of europe and limited current long-distance dispersal. | to unravel the postglacial colonization history and the current intercolony dispersal in the common eider, somateria mollissima, we analysed genetic variation at a part of the mitochondrial control region and five unlinked autosomal microsatellite loci in 175 eiders from 11 breeding colonies, covering the entire european distribution range of this species. as a result of extreme female philopatry, mitochondrial dna differentiation is substantial both among local colonies and among distant geogra ... | 2004 | 15140092 |
| eiders (somateria mollissima) obtain nodularin, a cyanobacterial hepatotoxin, in baltic sea food web. | nodularin (nodln) is a cyclic pentapeptide hepatotoxin produced by the cyanobacterium nodularia spumigena, which occurs regularly in the baltic sea during the summer season. nodularia blooms have caused several animal kills in the baltic sea area, and nodln has been found in mussels and fish caught from the northern baltic sea in 1996 to 2002. we analyzed liver samples of common eider (somateria mollissima) for nodln by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) and liquid chromatography/mass spe ... | 2004 | 15180377 |
| costs of immunity: immune responsiveness reduces survival in a vertebrate. | immune defences are undoubtedly of great benefit to the host, reducing the impact of infectious organisms. however, mounting immune responses also entails costs, which may be measured by inducing immune responses against artificial infections. we injected common eider (somateria mollissima) females with three different non-pathogenic antigens, sheep red blood cells (srbc), diphtheria toxoid and tetanus toxoid, early in their incubation period. in the group of females that mounted a humoral immun ... | 2004 | 15255047 |
| quantitative lc-esi-ms analyses of microcystins and nodularin-r in animal tissue--matrix effects and method validation. | the matrix effects and signal response in lc-ms analysis of six microcystins and nodularin-r were studied in mussels and liver samples from the common eider and rainbow trout. the instrumentation used in the study was a triple quadrupole ms with electrospray ionization. the results from the spiked tissue samples showed that both signal suppression and enhancement occurred. the recorded matrix effects were not severe; all studied toxins could be detected with sufficient limit of detection in all ... | 2005 | 15892039 |
| [cestode of the family hymenolepididae from ducks of chukotka: microsomacanthus parasobolevi sp. n.--a widely distributed parasite of eider ducks]. | a new species of the genus microsomacanthus lopez-neyra, 1942 is described. the material was collected from eider ducks (somateria mollissima, s. fischeri, and s. spectabilis) in the chaunskaya lowland (north-western chukotka). microsomacanthus parasobolevi sp. n. differs from the closest species of this genus (m. polystictae regel, 1988, m. sobolevi spassky et jurpalova, 1964; m. strictophalius tolkatchieva, 1966) by the structure and size of the copulatory organ. wide distribution of the new s ... | 2005 | 15907028 |
| cost of reproduction in a long-lived bird: incubation effort reduces immune function and future reproduction. | life-history theory predicts that increased current reproductive effort should lead to a fitness cost. this cost of reproduction may be observed as reduced survival or future reproduction, and may be caused by temporal suppression of immune function in stressed or hard-working individuals. in birds, consideration of the costs of incubating eggs has largely been neglected in favour of the costs of brood rearing. we manipulated incubation demand in two breeding seasons (2000 and 2001) in female co ... | 2005 | 16024362 |
| spatial and temporal trends of contaminants in terrestrial biota from the canadian arctic. | contaminants in the canadian arctic have been studied over the last twelve years under the guidance of the northern contaminants program. this paper summarizes results from that program from 1998 to 2003 with respect to terrestrial animals in the canadian arctic. the arctic terrestrial environment has few significant contaminant issues, particularly when compared with freshwater and marine environments. both current and historical industrial activities in the north may have a continuing effect o ... | 2005 | 16109438 |
| concentrations of cadmium, mercury and selenium in common eider ducks in the eastern canadian arctic: influence of reproductive stage. | concentrations and total organ content of mercury, selenium and cadmium, as well as liver, kidney and body mass were determined in female common eiders from 1997 to 2000 at the east bay migratory bird sanctuary in the eastern canadian arctic. in 1997 and 1999, female eiders were collected during the pre-nesting period when they eat copious amounts of food and gain substantial weight in preparation for the rigours of nesting. in 1998 and 1999, female eiders were collected during the mid to late s ... | 2005 | 16126251 |
| an assessment of the toxicological significance of anthropogenic contaminants in canadian arctic wildlife. | anthropogenic contaminants have been a concern in the canadian arctic for over 30 years due to relatively high concentrations of bioaccumulating and biomagnifying organochlorine contaminants (ocs) and toxic metals found in some arctic biota and humans. however, few studies have addressed the potential effects of these contaminants in canadian arctic wildlife. prior to 1997, biological effects data were minimal and insufficient at any level of biological organization. the present review summarize ... | 2005 | 16154621 |
| eider females form non-kin brood-rearing coalitions. | kin selection is a powerful tool for understanding cooperation among individuals, yet its role as the sole explanation of cooperative societies has recently been challenged on empirical grounds. these studies suggest that direct benefits of cooperation are often overlooked, and that partner choice may be a widespread mechanism of cooperation. female eider ducks (somateria mollissima) may rear broods alone, or they may pool their broods and share brood-rearing. females are philopatric, and it has ... | 2005 | 16202104 |
| one of the most complex life-cycles among trematodes: a description of parvatrema margaritense (ching, 1982) n. comb. (gymnophallidae) possessing parthenogenetic metacercariae. | this study used light and electron microscopy to provide observations and morphometric details of the life-cycle of the gymnophallids (trematoda, digenea), parvatrema margaritense (ching, 1982) n. comb., the parthenogenetic metacercariae ('germinal sacs') of which were previously described by ching (1982) as cercaria margaritensis. the research was instigated by the discovery, on the barents sea coast, of a high prevalence of gymnophallid sporocysts and cercariae in the bivalve turtonia minuta a ... | 2006 | 16426484 |
| regulation of stroke pattern and swim speed across a range of current velocities: diving by common eiders wintering in polynyas in the canadian arctic. | swim speed during diving has important energetic consequences. not only do costs increase as drag rises non-linearly with increasing speed, but speed also affects travel time to foraging patches and therefore time and energy budgets over the entire dive cycle. however, diving behaviour has rarely been considered in relation to current velocity. strong tidal currents around the belcher islands, nunavut, canada, produce polynyas, persistent areas of open water in the sea ice which are important ha ... | 2006 | 17023591 |
| costs of an immune challenge and terminal investment in a long-lived bird. | an induced immune challenge can have two counteracting effects on an individual's reproductive investment. (1) the resource demand could increase to "fuel" the immunologic reaction, which in turn can lead to an adaptive decrease in investment in resource-costly activities, such as reproduction. one the other hand, (2) the individual could assume that the immune activity it experiences is indicative of a serious infection. the latter can lead to an adaptive increase in reproductive investment in ... | 2006 | 17089653 |
| analysis of nodularin-r in eider (somateria mollissima), roach (rutilus rutilus l.), and flounder (platichthys flesus l.) liver and muscle samples from the western gulf of finland, northern baltic sea. | nodularin (nodln) is a cyanobacterial hepatotoxin that may cause toxic effects at very low exposure levels. the nodln-producing cyanobacterium nodularia spumigena forms massive blooms in the northern baltic sea, especially during the summer. we analyzed liver and muscle (edible meat) samples from common eider (somateria mollissima), roach (rutilus rutilus l.), and flounder (platichthys flesus l.) for nodln-r by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (lc-ms) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay ... | 2006 | 17089704 |
| corticosterone selectively decreases humoral immunity in female eiders during incubation. | immunity is hypothesized to share limited resources with other physiological functions and this may partly account for the fitness costs of reproduction. previous studies have shown that the acquired immunity of female common eider ducks (somateria mollissima) is suppressed during their incubation, during which they entirely fast. corticosterone was proposed to be an underlying physiological mechanism for such immunosuppression. therefore, the current study aimed to assess the effects of exogeno ... | 2006 | 17142684 |
| radionuclides in marine fishes and birds from amchitka and kiska islands in the aleutians: establishing a baseline. | amchitka island (51degrees n lat, 179 degrees e long) was the site of three underground nuclear tests from 1965-1971. there have been no substantive studies of radionuclides in marine fishes and birds in the area since the mid-1970's. in this study, levels of 60co, 52eu, 90sr, 99tc, 129i, 137cs, and the actinides (241am, 238pu, 239,240pu, 234u, 235u, 236u, and 238u) were studied in ten marine fish species (including pacific cod gadus macrocephalus and pacific halibut hippoglossus stenolepis) and ... | 2007 | 17293699 |
| effects of dietary selenium on tissue concentrations, pathology, oxidative stress, and immune function in common eiders (somateria mollissima). | common eiders (somateria mollissima) were fed added se (as l-selenomethionine) in concentrations increasing from 10 to 80 ppm in a pilot study (study 1) or 20 (low exposure) and up to 60 (high exposure) ppm se in study 2. body weights of study 1 ducks and high-exposure ducks in study 2 declined rapidly. mean concentrations of se in blood reached 32.4 ppm wet weight in study 1 and 17.5 ppm wet weight in high-exposure birds in study 2. mean se concentrations in liver ranged from 351 (low exposure, ... | 2007 | 17454562 |
| associations between persistent organic pollutants and vitamin status in brünnich's guillemot and common eider hatchlings. | the aim of the study was to examine associations between persistent organic pollutants and vitamin a (retinol), retinyl palmitate and vitamin e status (alpha-tocopherol) in two species occupying different trophic positions in the arctic food web. levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), some selected organochlorine pesticides (ocps), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes) and hexabromocyclododecane (hbcd) were analyzed in yolk sac of newly hatched chicks of brünnich's guillemot (uria lomvia) ... | 2007 | 17467774 |
| it is time to move: linking flight and foraging behaviour in a diving bird. | although the adaptive value of flight may seem obvious, it is the most difficult behaviour of birds to monitor. here, we describe a technique to quantify the frequency and the duration of flights over several months by implanting a data logger that records heart rate (fh), hydrostatic pressure (diving depth) and the body angle of a large sea duck species, the common eider (somateria mollissima). according to the mean fh recorded during flight and the parameters recorded to identify the fh flight ... | 2007 | 17504730 |
| decoding dumping ducks. | conspecific brood parasitism, where females of the same species lay eggs in each other's nests, is common in waterfowl, and is usually considered costly to host females, which are stuck looking after eggs and chicks that are not their own. however, since female waterfowl often exhibit an unusual propensity to nest near where they were born, there has been some uncertainty over whether, in ducks and geese, laying in nests of conspecifics really is parasitism. do parasitic and host females tend to ... | 2007 | 17594432 |
| assessment of metals in down feathers of female common eiders and their eggs from the aleutians: arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury, and selenium. | concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, manganese, mercury and selenium were examined in the down feathers and eggs of female common eiders (somateria mollissima) from amchitka and kiska islands in the aleutian chain of alaska to determine whether there were (1) differences between levels in feathers and eggs, (2) differences between the two islands, (3) positive correlations between metal levels in females and their eggs, and (4) whether there was more variation within or among clut ... | 2008 | 17934788 |
| flightlessness and the energetic cost of wing molt in a large sea duck. | although the replacement of feathers apparently represents the major event of somatic production in the annual cycle of wild birds, knowledge about the energetics of molt has always been hampered by logistical and technical difficulties, which are exacerbated by the fact that birds are able to compensate behaviorally to buffer any variation in energy demand. during wing molt, sea ducks (mergini) and other diving birds lose all of their wing feathers at once, leading to a period of temporary flig ... | 2007 | 18051662 |
| a label of health: a previous immune challenge is reflected in the expression of a female plumage trait. | studies of ornaments as indicators of individual quality have hitherto focused on males, while studies of female ornaments have been almost absent. however, females within the same species may show large variation in both outer appearance and individual quality. we experimentally examined the effect of an immune challenge on the size of white fringes in the wing feathers produced one to two months after the challenge in female common eiders (somateria mollissima), a long-lived sea duck. immune-c ... | 2008 | 18477546 |
| ossification sequence of the avian order anseriformes, with comparison to other precocial birds. | ossification sequences are poorly known for most amniotes, and yet they represent an important source of morphogenetic, phylogenetic, and life history information. here, the author describes the ossification sequences of three ducks, the common eider somateria mollissima dresseri, the pekin duck anas platyrhynchos, and the muscovy duck cairina moschata. sequence differences exist both within and among these species, but are generally minor. the common eider has the most ossified skeleton prior t ... | 2008 | 18496857 |
| to fly or not to fly: high flight costs in a large sea duck do not imply an expensive lifestyle. | a perennial question in ornithology is whether flight has evolved mostly to facilitate access to food or as an anti-predator strategy. however, flight is an expensive mode of locomotion and species using flight regularly are associated with an expensive lifestyle. using heart rate (hr) data loggers implanted in 13 female common eiders (somateria mollissima), our objective was to test the hypothesis that a high level of flight activity increases their energy budget. we used the long-term recordin ... | 2008 | 18522911 |
| [the role of marine amphipods in the life cycles of the cestode genus microsomacanthus at bering sea coast of chukchi peninsula. first results of the investigation]. | investigation of the helminth fauna was carried out in different amphipode species at bering sea coast of chukchi peninsula in july-september 2004. more than 3700 amphipode specimens of the following three species were examined: lagunogammarus setosus dementieva, 1931 (n = 2772 specimens) (gammaridae), eogammarus barbatus tzvetkova, 1965 (n = 471), and spinulogammarus subcarinatus (bate, 1862) (n = 509) (anisogammaridae). numerous metacestodes of four hymenolepidid species from the genus microso ... | 2008 | 18543804 |
| molecular characterization of giardia intestinalis haplotypes in marine animals: variation and zoonotic potential. | giardia intestinalis is a microbial eukaryotic parasite that causes diarrheal disease in humans and other vertebrates worldwide. the negative effect on quality of life and economics caused by g. intestinalis may be increased by its potential status as a zoonosis, or a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. the zoonotic potential of g. intestinalis has been implied for over 2 decades, with human-infecting genotypes (belonging to the 2 major subgroups, assemblages a and b) occurri ... | 2008 | 18828561 |
| survival of female common eiders somateria m. mollissima in a declining population of the northern baltic sea. | in long-lived species, adult survival is the population parameter having the highest elasticity, and therefore, it can be expected to be least affected by climatic variations. we studied the dynamics and survival of breeding female common eiders somateria mollissima mollissima in the baltic sea from 1960 to 2007. using nest censuses and capture-recapture methods, we investigated: (1) the annual apparent survival (phi) of breeding females, (2) the survival-mediated population fluctuation, (3) wea ... | 2009 | 19139920 |
| costs of reproduction in a long-lived bird: large clutch size is associated with low survival in the presence of a highly virulent disease. | fitness costs of reproduction are expected to be more pronounced when the environmental conditions deteriorate. we took advantage of a natural experiment to investigate the costs of reproduction among common eiders (somateria mollissima) nesting at a site in the arctic, where an avian cholera epizootic appeared at different magnitudes. we tested the predictions that larger reproductive effort (clutch size) is associated with lower survival or breeding probability the following year, and that thi ... | 2009 | 19324661 |
| [description of the maritae and determination of the species status of microphallus pseudopygmaeus sp. nov. (trematoda: microphallidae)]. | microphallus pseudopygmaeus belongs to the "pygmaeus" microphallids, a group of closely related species with homotypic two-host life cycle. this cycle involves one intermediate host (littoral or sublittoral gastropods, mostly of the genus littorina), and bird-invading metacercariae develop within daughter sporocysts. in spite of the fact that the name microphallus pseudopygmaeus is widespread in special literature, the original description of this species (galaktionov, 1980) was performed in con ... | 2009 | 19807040 |
| perfluorinated and other persistent halogenated organic compounds in european shag (phalacrocorax aristotelis) and common eider (somateria mollissima) from norway: a suburban to remote pollutant gradient. | samples of two marine bird species, european shag (phalacrocorax aristotelis) and common eider (somateria mollissima) sampled at a remote coastal site in norway were analysed for pops and pfcs. additionally samples of common eider were analysed from two other locations in norway, representing a gradient from "densely populated" to "remote". the variety, concentration and distribution of lipophilic pops in comparison to pfcs were investigated. pcbs were the dominating group of contaminants in the ... | 2009 | 19836057 |
| do female ornaments indicate quality in eider ducks? | the fitness consequences of female ornamentation remain little studied and the results are often contradictory. female ornamentation may be an artefact of a genetic correlation with male ornamentation, but this possibility can be disregarded if the ornament only occurs in females. female-specific white wing bars in eiders (somateria mollissima) have been suggested to indicate individual quality, and we studied size variation in this trait in relation to key fitness components and quality attribu ... | 2010 | 19846446 |
| inter- and intraclutch variation in egg mercury levels in marine bird species from the canadian arctic. | mercury (hg) is a toxic metal that has been of increasing concern in the canadian arctic. we measured total hg in eggs of three marine birds (arctic terns sterna paradisaea, common eiders somateria mollissima borealis, long-tailed ducks clangula hyemalis) that breed in the canadian arctic, to compare hg laying order effects from the same clutch and to examine hg among species. early-laid eggs of all three species had 24-48% higher hg concentrations than late laid eggs. arctic terns had approxima ... | 2010 | 19962722 |
| do common eiders nest in kin groups? microgeographic genetic structure in a philopatric sea duck. | we investigated local genetic associations among female pacific common eiders (somateria mollissima v-nigrum) nesting in a stochastic arctic environment within two groups of barrier islands (simpson lagoon and mikkelsen bay) in the beaufort sea, alaska. nonrandom genetic associations were observed among nesting females using regional spatial autocorrelation analyses for distance classes up to 1000 m in simpson lagoon. nearest-neighbour analyses identified clusters of genetically related females ... | 2010 | 20074318 |
| organochlorine compounds and their metabolites in seven icelandic seabird species - a comparative study. | the present study is designed to assess the occurrence of a few organochlorine contaminants and their metabolites in eggs of different marine bird species in iceland, a country located in the sub-arctic of the north-western atlantic. previous investigations from e.g. sweden and the netherlands have shown some obvious differences in contaminant concentrations, including e.g. hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyl metabolites (oh-pcbs) in guillemot (uria aalge) and other bird species. eggs from sev ... | 2010 | 20356092 |
| distribution patterns of wintering sea ducks in relation to the north atlantic oscillation and local environmental characteristics. | twelve species of north american sea ducks (tribe mergini) winter off the eastern coast of the united states and canada. yet, despite their seasonal proximity to urbanized areas in this region, there is limited information on patterns of wintering sea duck habitat use. it is difficult to gather information on sea ducks because of the relative inaccessibility of their offshore locations, their high degree of mobility, and their aggregated distributions. to characterize environmental conditions th ... | 2010 | 20364388 |
| prevalence and subtypes of influenza a viruses in wild waterfowl in norway 2006-2007. | the prevalence of influenza a virus infection, and the distribution of different subtypes of the virus, were studied in 1529 ducks and 1213 gulls shot during ordinary hunting from august to december in two consecutive years, 2006 and 2007, in norway. the study was based on molecular screening of cloacal and tracheal swabs, using a pan-influenza a rt-pcr. samples found to be positive for influenza a virus were screened for the h5 subtype, using a h5 specific rt-pcr, and, if negative, further subt ... | 2010 | 20426812 |
| trophic position influences the efficacy of seabirds as metal biovectors. | seabirds represent a well documented biological transport pathway of nutrients from the ocean to the land by nesting in colonies and providing organic subsidies (feces, carcasses, dropped food) to these sites. we investigated whether seabirds that feed at different trophic levels vary in their potency as biovectors of metals, which can bioaccumulate through the marine foodweb. our study site, located on a small island in arctic canada, contains the unique scenario of two nearby ponds, one of whi ... | 2010 | 20498048 |
| indeterminate laying and flexible clutch size in a capital breeder, the common eider. | clutch size control in capital breeders such as large waterfowl has been much debated. some studies have concluded that clutch size in ducks is determined before the start of laying and does not change in response to egg additions or removals. the response, however, may depend on the timing of tests, and experiments may have been too late for females to alter the number of eggs. we here study clutch size responses to predation of first and second eggs in the common eider, using protein fingerpri ... | 2011 | 20811912 |
| adult predation risk drives shifts in parental care strategies: a long-term study. | 1. grouping provides antipredatory benefits, and therefore aggregation tendencies increase under heightened predation risk. in socially breeding groups, however, conflicts over reproductive shares or safety tend to disintegrate groups. group formation thereby involves a balance between the antipredatory benefits of aggregation and the destabilizing effect of reproductive conflict. 2. we study the grouping behaviour of a facultatively social precocial sea duck with uniparental female care, the ei ... | 2010 | 20880024 |
| first report of typhlitis/typhlohepatitis caused by tetratrichomonas gallinarum in three duck species. | two red-breasted mergansers (mergus serrator), one hooded merganser (lophodytes cucullatus), and one common eider (somateria mollissima) from a german zoological collection died of necrotizing typhlitis/typhlohepatitis within 2 years. using a newly established chromogenic in situ hybridization assay, numerous intralesional trophozoites of tetratrichomonas gallinarum could be detected in formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues from the caeca and livers of the affected birds. partial sequenci ... | 2010 | 21154060 |
| influence of petroleum hydrocarbons on the endoparasitic helminths of the common eider, somateria mollissima, from newfoundland. | a comparison of commonly occurring metazoan parasites in the digestive tract was made between common eiders, somateria mollissima, that were contaminated with oil and reference birds confiscated from illegal hunting. there was a greater number of commonly occurring parasites and their abundance in reference than in oiled eiders. except for an acanthocephalan, polymorphus botulus, which was embedded in the wall of the intestinal tract, most of the other taxa of parasites, including trematodes, ce ... | 2010 | 21208521 |
| environmental pollutants in the swedish marine ecosystem, with special emphasis on polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbde). | levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (pbdes), polybrominated biphenyls (pbbs), polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ddt) and perfluorinated organic compounds (pfcs) were analysed in whole herring (clupea harengus) and sprat (sprattus sprattus), eggs from common eider (somateria mollissima) and eggs and livers from herring gull (larus argentatus) from the swedish west coast. the contaminant values obtained were compared with published values from the arctic marin ... | 2011 | 21220151 |
| [diagnostic features of microsomacanthus microsoma (creplin, 1829), type species of the genus microsomacanthus lopez-neyra, 1942, as the base for the revision of the genus]. | the genus microsomacanthus was created by lopez-neyra (1942). its type species, taenia microsoma creplin, 1829, was described from the common eider somateria mollissima and remained a collective species until fuhrmann (1913) revealed its diagnostic features on the original material. simultaneously he described two new species of "microsoma-gruppe", microsomacanthus jaegerskioeldi (fuhrmann, 1913) and m. diorchis (fuhrmann, 1913). fuhrmann stressed that under the name of hymenolepis microsoma coh ... | 2010 | 21309145 |
| selenium concentrations and enzyme activities of glutathione metabolism in wild long-tailed ducks and common eiders. | the relationships of selenium (se) concentrations in whole blood with plasma activities of total glutathione peroxidase, se-dependent glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase were studied in long-tailed ducks (clangula hyemalis) and common eiders (somateria mollissima) sampled along the beaufort sea coast of alaska, usa. blood se concentrations were >8?µg/g wet weight in both species. linear regression revealed that the activities of total and se-dependent glutathione peroxidase were si ... | 2011 | 21462234 |
| monitoring temperature and heart rate during surgical field implantation of ptt-100 satellite transmitters in greenland sea birds. | information on cloacae temperature (ct), heart rate (hr), isoflurane use, and oxygen flow was collected during field implantation of platform terminal transmitters (ptt-) 100 satellite transmitters in greenland sea birds. information was obtained from 14 intracoelomic and 5 subcutaneous implantations in thick-billed murres (uria lomvia) and 9 intracoelomic implantations in common eiders (somateria mollissima). ct decreased in the order subcutaneous murres > intracoelomic eiders > intracoelomic m ... | 2011 | 21822467 |
| effects of ship traffic on seabirds in offshore waters: implications for marine conservation and spatial planning. | most anthropogenic influences on marine ecosystems, except for river- or terrestrial-borne pollution, involve some sort of vessel activity. increasing anthropogenic activities mean that many countries are being forced to develop spatial planning schemes, while at the same time implementing conservation sites for sensitive species at sea. the effects of ship traffic on seabirds sensitive to human disturbance are currently too poorly understood to allow for the development of proper planning and c ... | 2011 | 21830723 |
| pesticide and pcb of common eider, herring gull and great black-backed gull eggs. | | 2000 | 111743 |
| cyclic avian mass mortality in the northeastern united states is associated with a novel orthomyxovirus. | since 1998, cyclic mortality events in common eiders (somateria mollissima), numbering in the hundreds to thousands of dead birds, have been documented along the coast of cape cod, ma, usa. although longitudinal disease investigations have uncovered potential contributing factors responsible for these outbreaks, detecting a primary etiological agent has proven enigmatic. here, we identify a novel orthomyxovirus, tentatively named wellfleet bay virus (wfbv), as a potential causative agent of thes ... | 2014 | 25392223 |
| injecting epidemiology into population viability analysis: avian cholera transmission dynamics at an arctic seabird colony. | infectious diseases have the potential to spread rapidly and cause high mortality within populations of immunologically naïve hosts. the recent appearance of avian cholera, a highly virulent disease of birds caused by the bacterium pasteurella multocida, at remote arctic seabird colonies is an emerging conservation concern. determining disease risk to population viability requires a quantitative understanding of transmission potential and the factors that regulate epidemic persistence. estimates ... | 2016 | 27548394 |
| avian cholera causes marine bird mortality in the bering sea of alaska. | the first known avian cholera outbreak among wild birds in alaska occurred during november 2013. liver, intestinal, and splenic necrosis consistent with avian cholera was noted, and pasteurella multocida serotype 1 was isolated from liver and lung or spleen in crested auklets (aethia cristatella), thick-billed murres (uria lomvia), common eider (somateria mollissima), northern fulmars (fulmarus glacialis), and gulls (larus spp.). | 2015 | 26251989 |
| no selection on immunological markers in response to a highly virulent pathogen in an arctic breeding bird. | in natural populations, epidemics provide opportunities to look for intense natural selection on genes coding for life history and immune or other physiological traits. if the populations being considered are of management or conservation concern, then identifying the traits under selection (or 'markers') might provide insights into possible intervention strategies during epidemics. we assessed potential for selection on multiple immune and life history traits of arctic breeding common eiders (s ... | 2014 | 25469158 |
| molecular characterisation of sarcocystis rileyi from a common eider (somateria mollissima) in norway. | the breast and leg muscles of a common eider (somateria mollissima; anatidae: anseriformes) from northern norway contained numerous grossly visible cigar-shaped sarcocysts measuring about 5 × 1 mm. light microscopic examination of isolated sarcocysts revealed that they were encapsulated by a thin fibrous layer, underneath which there was a thin and fairly smooth cyst wall with no visible protrusions. the cystozoites were straight, spindle-shaped and about 13 μm long. genomic dna was extracted fr ... | 2014 | 25082019 |
| mercury concentrations in seabird tissues from machias seal island, new brunswick, canada. | mercury is a pervasive environmental contaminant, the anthropogenic portion of which is increasing globally, and in northeastern north america in particular. seabirds frequently are used as indicators of the marine environment, including mercury contamination. we analysed paired samples for total mercury (hg) concentrations in feathers and blood from adult and chick, albumen, and lipid-free yolk of seven seabirds breeding on machias seal island, new brunswick, canada - arctic tern (sterna paradi ... | 2009 | 19419752 |
| marine foraging birds as bioindicators of mercury in the gulf of maine. | from existing databases, we compiled and evaluated 604 total mercury (hg) levels in the eggs and blood of 17 species of marine foraging birds from 35 gulf of maine islands to provide baseline data and to determine the best tissue, age class, and species for future biomonitoring. while mean hg levels in most species did not exceed adverse effects thresholds, levels in some individual eggs did; for all species arithmetic mean egg hg levels ranged from 0.04 to 0.62 (microg/g, wet weight). piscivoro ... | 2008 | 19277786 |
| migration and opportunistic feeding increase pcb accumulation in arctic seabirds. | it is widely accepted that body concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (pops) tend to increase with trophic level (tl). yet, little attention has been paid to the causes in the underlying differences in pop body concentrations between species occupying similar tls. in this paper we use two modeling approaches to quantify the importance of migration and opportunistic feeding, relative to that of trophic level, in explaining interspecific differences in polychlorinated biphenyl (pcb) body ... | 2013 | 24024972 |
| morphometrical and ecological analysis of nematodes of the family capillariidae (neveu-lemaire, 1936) in wild ducks (anatinae) from the north-western poland. | west pomerania is located on the migratory route of many species of birds. among them are many representatives of wild duck species (subfamily anatinae), which are often the primary hosts of many helminths due to the fact of living in two different environments: terrestrial and aquatic. however, until the end of the 90s, research conducted in poland on the helminth fauna of wild birds, including nematodes of the family capillariidae, did not include the north-western region of the country. these ... | 2013 | 24791347 |
| plastic and metal ingestion in three species of coastal waterfowl wintering in atlantic canada. | relatively little attention has been paid to the occurrence of anthropogenic debris found in coastal species, especially waterfowl. we examined the incidence of ingested plastic and metal in three waterfowl species wintering in atlantic canada: american black ducks (anas rubripes) and mallards (a. platyrhynchos), two species that use marine and freshwater coastal habitats for foraging in the winter, and common eider (somateria mollissima), a coastal marine species that feeds on intertidal and su ... | 2015 | 26045198 |
| predators, alternative prey and climate influence annual breeding success of a long-lived sea duck. | 1. perturbations to ecosystems have the potential to directly and indirectly affect species interactions, with subsequent impacts on population dynamics and the vital rates that regulate them. 2. the few long-term studies of common eider breeding ecology indicate that reproductive success is low in most years, interrupted by occasional boom years. however, no study has explicitly examined the drivers of long-term variation in reproductive success. 3. here, we use encounter history data collected ... | 2013 | 23362924 |
| a comparison of auditory brainstem responses across diving bird species. | there is little biological data available for diving birds because many live in hard-to-study, remote habitats. only one species of diving bird, the black-footed penguin (spheniscus demersus), has been studied in respect to auditory capabilities (wever et al., proc natl acad sci usa 63:676-680, 1969). we, therefore, measured in-air auditory threshold in ten species of diving birds, using the auditory brainstem response (abr). the average audiogram obtained for each species followed the u-shape t ... | 2015 | 26156644 |