Department of Biology, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford St., Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada.
Environment and Climate Change Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, 45 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B2Y 2N6, Canada.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Jan;162:111842. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111842. Epub 2020 Nov 14.
The Leach's storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous) is one of the most abundant and widely distributed marine birds in the North Atlantic but is under global population decline, possibly linked to marine pollution. We determined levels of ingested plastic and hepatic total mercury (THg) in recently fledged juveniles that stranded in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, and assessed the relationship to body condition, size and diet. Plastic prevalence was high (87.5%) but hepatic THg was relatively low (mean 486.7 ng/g dry weight) compared to other studies. Levels of neither pollutant were significantly related to body metrics of health. Our data confirm that plastic and mercury are pervasive in the western North Atlantic Ocean, prominent even in young birds.
黑叉齿厚嘴海雀（Hydrobates leucorhous）是北大西洋数量最多、分布最广的海洋鸟类之一，但全球数量正在减少，可能与海洋污染有关。我们测定了在加拿大纽芬兰和拉布拉多搁浅的刚离巢的幼鸟体内摄入的塑料和肝脏总汞（THg）的水平，并评估了其与身体状况、体型和饮食的关系。与其他研究相比，塑料的检出率很高（87.5%），但肝脏中的总汞含量相对较低（平均值为 486.7ng/g 干重）。两种污染物的水平均与健康的身体指标没有显著关系。我们的数据证实，塑料和汞在北大西洋西部普遍存在，即使在幼鸟中也很明显。
