March 31, 2024

Crawford receives Angus Gavin Migratory Bird Research Grant

METAL research professional Stephanie Crawford receives Angus Gavin Migratory Bird Research Grant.

Her project "Quantifying associations among mercury, body condition, and co-contamination of phthalates in seabirds from western Alaska (2009–2023) using an extensive tissue archive" will

1) describe spatial and temporal variability in seabird muscle mercury concentrations, addressing:

• per species/island group differences before (2009–2014) and after (2015–2023) the onset of summer SMEs,
• variability between time periods with respect to sex, body condition, trophic level, and foraging guild, and
• interannual variability over all samples years for all species/island groups.

2) examine the correlation between phthalate and mercury concentrations in seabird muscle, with respect to:

• species and body condition, and
• evidence for additive effects.

The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are undergoing rapid environmental changes. Large-scale summer seabird mortality events (SMEs) in this region of Alaska were rare before 2015, but have since become annual events.

Although nutritional stress (emaciation) has been identified as a primary cause of mortality in these events, we are focused upon quantifying the effect of other contributing factors, specifically the exposure to ubiquitous environmental contaminants (e.g., mercury and microplastic-derived phthalate compounds) that are well-documented to have negative effects upon individual survival and reproduction.

Previous research from the Marine Ecotoxicology and Trophic Assessment Laboratory at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has demonstrated substantial spatial variability in biotic mercury concentrations across the Aleutian Archipelago and Bering Sea. Mercury concentrations in some upper trophic level marine predators from this region exceed known toxicity thresholds. Prior studies identified a doubling in the mercury concentrations of seabird livers between 1982–1985 and 2008–2010 in the Bering Sea, to levels of moderate toxicity risk for some species. Increasing mercury concentrations in the years prior to the onset of summer SMEs illustrates the need to better understand the ecological context of regional SMEs, including the potential roles of contaminants.

Here, we aim to capitalize on a unique archive of seabird tissues representing 17 species sampled across 15 years (n=959 total). Not only does this assemblage of seabird tissues comprise the most-complete, longitudinal dataset of its kind, the extensive archive comes with corresponding information regarding demographics, morphometrics (body condition), bulk stable isotopes (trophic assessment), and additional contaminant measurements (phthalates). Thus, we have a unique opportunity to quantify mercury concentrations in non-SME seabird muscle tissues collected prior to, during, and since the onset of the now-annual, large-scale SMEs affecting numerous seabird species in Alaska.

Lead Researcher:
Stephanie Crawford (UAF)

Team:
Douglas Causey (UAA)
Veronica Padula (Bering Sea Research Center, Aleut Community of St. Paul Island)
Kristen Gorman (UAF)
Benjamin Barst (UAF)

Dates:
Project will begin during Fall 2024 and continue through 2025

The Angus Gavin Migratory Bird Research Grant was created in 1983 with gifts from Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), now ConocoPhillips, and ARCO employees in honor of Angus Gavin. The grant supports research on migratory bird species found either permanently or seasonally in Alaska or its coastal waters, including their biology, general ecology and habitat relationships.