Gentes Marie-Line, Whitworth Terry L, Waldner Cheryl, Fenton Heather, Smits Judit E
Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
J Wildl Dis. 2007 Apr;43(2):167-78. doi: 10.7589/0090-3558-43.2.167.
Oil sands mining is steadily expanding in Alberta, Canada. Major companies are planning reclamation strategies for mine tailings, in which wetlands will be used for the bioremediation of water and sediments contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and naphthenic acids during the extraction process. A series of experimental wetlands were built on companies' leases to assess the feasibility of this approach, and tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) were designated as upper trophic biological sentinels. From May to July 2004, prevalence and intensity of infestation with bird blow flies Protocalliphora spp. (Diptera: Calliphoridae) were measured in nests on oil sands reclaimed wetlands and compared with those on a reference site. Nestling growth and survival also were monitored. Prevalence of infestation was surprisingly high for a small cavity nester; 100% of the 38 nests examined were infested. Nests on wetlands containing oil sands waste materials harbored on average from 60% to 72% more blow fly larvae than those on the reference site. Nestlings on reclaimed sites suffered mean parasitic burdens about twice that of those on the reference site; and for comparable parasitic load, they exhibited greater pathologic effects (e.g., decreased body mass) than control nestlings. The heavy blow fly infestation on oil sands-impacted wetlands suggests that oil sands mining disturbs several components of the local ecosystem, including habitat characteristics, blow fly predators, and host resistance to parasites.
加拿大艾伯塔省的油砂开采正在稳步扩张。各大公司正在为矿尾矿制定复垦策略，其中湿地将用于对在提取过程中被多环芳烃和环烷酸污染的水和沉积物进行生物修复。在公司租赁的土地上建造了一系列实验湿地，以评估这种方法的可行性，并将树燕（双色树燕）指定为高级营养生物哨兵。2004年5月至7月，对油砂复垦湿地巢穴中的鸟类丽蝇（Protocaliphora spp.，双翅目：丽蝇科）的感染率和感染强度进行了测量，并与参考地点的情况进行了比较。同时还监测了雏鸟的生长和存活情况。对于一种小型洞穴筑巢鸟类来说，感染率出奇地高；在检查的38个巢穴中，100%都受到了感染。含有油砂废料湿地中的巢穴平均比参考地点的巢穴多容纳60%至72%的丽蝇幼虫。复垦地点的雏鸟平均寄生负担约为参考地点雏鸟的两倍；在寄生负荷相当的情况下，它们表现出比对照雏鸟更大的病理效应（如体重减轻）。油砂影响的湿地上丽蝇大量滋生表明，油砂开采扰乱了当地生态系统的几个组成部分，包括栖息地特征、丽蝇捕食者以及宿主对寄生虫的抵抗力。
