Small home ranges and high site fidelity in red knots (Calidris c. canutus) wintering on the Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania

Using automated and manual radio-telemetry and resightings of individual colour-ringed birds, we assessed the daily use of space of red knots Calidris canutus canutus at a tropical wintering area along the Sahara coast, the Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania. Confirming earlier suggestions, we found that birds were very faithful to their roosts and that the daily foraging range was small; in the course of several winter months birds used an area of only 2–16 km² of intertidal area. We found no differences between their movements in daylight and at night. Additionally, individuals seem to return to exactly the same locations in subsequent winters. This pattern is very different from red knots wintering in the temperate Wadden Sea. Here, they readily change roost sites and easily cover areas of about 800 km² in the course of weeks but, just as in Mauritania, no differences between day and night are apparent. In northern Patagonia and north-western Australia, red knots have range sizes closer to those on the Banc d’Arguin, but here they do show differences in space use between day and night. Ecological explanations for these contrasting patterns require further comparative data based on in-depth studies on the predictability of the food base and the presence of diurnal and nocturnal predators.     

Differences in biometrics and moult of non-breeding Red Knots Calidris canutus in southern Africa and Scotland reflect contrasting climatic conditions

We describe the migration, biometrics and moult of Red Knot Calidris canutus canutus in southern Africa and compare them with the biometrics and moult of Calidris canutus islandica in northern Europe to examine possible adaptations to different environments during the non‐breeding season. Northward and southward migration of C. c. canutus took place along the coast of Western Europe and there was one recovery in West Africa (Mauritania), suggesting a coastal migration round West Africa rather than migration across the Sahara, as recorded in other waders. Adult Knots in South Africa had no additional fattening in November–January (fat index of 7%), in contrast to C. c. islandica wintering in Britain. This is consistent with the theory that extra fat is required only where food shortages are likely. The bills of canutus were longer than those of islandica but their wings were shorter, confirming the sub‐specific assignments and origin of this population. The average duration of primary moult in South Africa was 95 days, shorter than that of other Arctic‐breeding waders that moult in South Africa, but longer than of islandica moulting in Scotland (77 days). Mean starting and completion dates were 20 July and 5 October for islandica and 25 October and 28 January for canutus. The timing and duration of primary moult for these two subspecies suggest that waders need to complete moult before the northern winter when food supplies are limited, whilst waders in benign climates face no such pressures. First‐year canutus either retained old primaries for much of their first year or had a partial moult of inner or other primaries. Adults departed on northward migration in mid‐April, having attained a mean departure mass of c. 190 g (maximum 232 g). The mean fat index at this time was 24% (maximum 29%) and the fat‐free flight muscle mass increased. The predicted flight range of 4000 km falls short of the distance to the first likely refuelling site in West Africa, suggesting that birds rely on assistance from favourable winds.     

Captive and free‐living red knots Calidris canutus exhibit differences in non‐induced immunity that suggest different immune strategies in different environments

Experiments on captive animals, in which conditions can be controlled, are useful for examining complex biological phenomena such as immune function. Such experiments have increased our understanding of immune responses in the context of trade‐offs and pathogen pressure. However, few studies have examined how captivity itself affects immune function. We used microbial killing, leukocyte concentrations and complement‐natural antibody assays to examine non‐induced (constitutive) immunity in captive and free‐living red knots Calidris canutus. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated that captive and free‐living birds differed in their immune strategies. Captive birds showed reduced S. aureus killing, C. albicans killing, heterophils, and eosinophils. In a principal component analysis, the affected variables fell onto a single axis, that reflected phagocytosis and inflammation based immunity. We discuss possible reasons for this result in an immune cost and protective benefit framework.     

Seasonality in basal metabolic rate and thermal conductance in a long-distance migrant shorebird,the knot (Calidris canutus)

Knots Calidris canutus live highly seasonal lives, breeding solitarily on high arctic tundra and spending the non-breeding season in large social flocks in temperate to tropical estuaries. Their reproductive activities and physiological preparations for long flights are reflected in pronounced plumage and body mass changes, even in long-term captives of the islandica subspecies (breeding in north Greenland and northeast Canada and wintering in western Europe) studied in outdoor aviaries. The three to four fattening episodes in April-July in connection with the flights to and from the high arctic breeding grounds by free-living birds, are represented by a single period of high body mass, peaking between late May and early July in a sample of ten captive islandica knots studied over four years. There are consistent and synchronized annual variations in basal metabolic rate and thermal conductance in three islandica knots. Basal metabolic rate was highest during the summer body mass peak. Within the examined individuals, basal metabolic rate scales on body mass with an exponent of about 1.4, probably reflecting a general hypertrophy of metabolically expensive muscles and organs. Any potential effect of moult on basal metabolic rate was obscured by the large seasonal mass-associated variations. In breeding plumage, insulation (the inverse of thermal conductance) was a factor of 1.35 lower than in winter plumage. This was paralleled by the dry mass of contour feathers being a factor of 1.17 lower. In this subspecies the breeding season is indeed the period during which the costs of thermoregulation are lowest. In captive knots seasonal changes in basal metabolic rate and thermal conductance likely reflect an anticipatory programme adaptive to the variable demands made by the environment at different times of the year.     

Assessing the Contribution of Marine Protected Areas to the Trophic Functioning of Ecosystems: A Model for the Banc d’Arguin and the Mauritanian Shelf

Most modelling studies addressed the effectiveness of marine protected areas (MPA) for fisheries sustainability through single species approach. Only a few models analysed the potential benefits of MPAs at the ecosystem level, estimating the potential export of fish biomass from the reserve or analysing the trophic relationships between organisms inside and outside the MPA. Here, we propose to use food web models to assess the contribution of a MPA to the trophic functioning of a larger ecosystem. This approach is applied to the Banc d’Arguin National Park, a large MPA located on the Mauritanian shelf. The ecosystem was modeled using Ecopath with Ecosim, a model that accounts for fisheries, food web structure, and some aspects of the spatial distribution of species, for the period 1991–2006. Gaps in knowledge and uncertainty were taken into account by building three different models. Results showed that the Banc d’Arguin contributes about 9 to 13% to the total consumption, is supporting about 23% of the total production and 18% of the total catch of the Mauritanian shelf ecosystem, and up to 50% for coastal fish. Of the 29 exploited groups, 15 depend on the Banc for more than 30% of their direct or indirect consumptions. Between 1991 and 2006, the fishing pressure increased leading to a decrease in biomass and the catch of high trophic levels, confirming their overall overexploitation. Ecosim simulations showed that adding a new fleet in the Banc d’Arguin would have large impacts on the species with a high reliance on the Banc for food, resulting in a 23% decrease in the current outside MPA catches. We conclude on the usefulness of food web models to assess MPAs contribution to larger ecosystem functioning.     

Circular pools in the seagrass beds of the Banc d’Arguin,Mauritania, and their possible origin

The tidal flats of the Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, are covered by vast beds of Zostera noltii. At low tide these seagrass beds appear to be interspersed with partly vegetated, circular pools of 5–25 m diameter. Between February and May 2001 we described these pools and studied their possible origin. Several hypotheses regarding the origin have been developed. The first group of hypotheses assumes that the pools result from erosion activity. Since human disturbance of seagrass beds at the Banc d’Arguin is virtually non-existent, causes should be found in natural bed disturbances and/or tide or wave action. Therefore, small gaps, simulating holes dug by the crab Callinectes marginatus, were made to see if they would further erode by tidal currents or waves. The experiments showed no erosion. Neither we found support for other hypotheses assuming erosion to be the cause of circular pools. The alternative group of hypotheses stated that sedimentation on the flats would be responsible. We conclude that accretion of creek remnants is the most likely process behind the development of the pools; this conclusion is based on both mapping of the pattern of pools, the sediment profile in and around the pools and the distribution of seagrass biomass. Also the disturbance experiments showed bed accretion rather than bed erosion and support this hypothesis.     

Migration strategies of the Baltic dunlin: rapid jump migration in the autumn but slower skipping type spring migration

Migration during spring is usually faster than during autumn because of competition for breeding territories. In some cases, however, the costs and benefits associated with the environment can lead to slower spring migration, but examples are quite rare. We compared seasonal migration strategies of the endangered Baltic population of the dunlin Calidris alpina schinzii using light‐level geolocator data from 26 individuals breeding in Finland. Autumn migration was faster, with individuals showing a ‘jump’ and ‘skipping’ migration strategy characterised by fewer stationary periods, shorter total stopping time and faster flight. Spring migration was slower, with individuals using a ‘skipping’ strategy. The duration of migration was longer for early departing birds during spring but not during autumn suggesting that early spring migrants are prevented from arriving to the breeding areas or that fueling conditions are worse on the stopover sites for early arriving individuals. Dunlins showed high migratory connectivity. All individuals had one long staging at the Wadden Sea in the autumn after which half of the individuals flew 4500 km non‐stop to Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania. The other half stopped briefly on the Atlantic coast on their way to Mauritania. One bird wintered on the coast of Portugal. Nine individuals that carried geolocators for two years were site faithful to their final non‐breeding sites. Based on the strategies during the non‐breeding period we identified, Baltic dunlin may be especially vulnerable to rapid environmental changes at the staging and non‐breeding areas. Consequently, the preservation of the identified non‐breeding areas is important for their conservation.     

Body mass change and diet switch tracked by stable isotopes indicate time spent at a stopover site during autumn migration in dunlins Calidris alpina alpina

Birds may change their diet and foraging habitat during or after migration. Dunlins Calidris alpina alpina breed in the tundra of northern Europe and Russia where they feed exclusively on terrestrial prey. However, up to 80% of the flyway population uses the Wadden Sea as their first important staging site on the way to wintering grounds, feeding exclusively on marine prey. Adult birds migrate earlier than immatures and tend to fly non‐stop, whereas immatures may stage for at least a few days en route, mainly in the Baltic region. There they mostly feed on brackish water prey showing similar isotopic values compared to terrestrial prey. When they arrive in the Wadden Sea, dunlin body reserves are depleted and lower than those of individuals that have already staged for several days. We hypothesized that lighter individuals should retain a strong terrestrial isotopic blood signature, while heavier ones should show a stronger marine signature. We found a significant positive correlation between scaled mass index and carbon (δ¹³C) and nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) stable isotopes, reflecting the switch from terrestrial to marine prey during migration. A mixing model revealed differences in isotopic values between heavy and light adults and immatures, respectively, in relation to the isotopic prey signatures. Adults showed stronger marine signals compared with immatures, emphasizing the different modes of migration (i.e. a later departure in immatures) as well as the known spatial segregation of age classes in the Wadden Sea, i.e. adults use tidal flats distant from the shore while immatures use coastal areas influenced by terrestrial carbon sources. The results of this study demonstrate the value of scaled mass index in migratory birds as an indicator of time elapsed after diet switching following migration. Furthermore, this study extents the existing knowledge on the timing of dunlin migration by using an isotopic approach.     

Umweltchemikalien in Eiern von Binnenland- und Wattenmeerbrütern des Austernfischers (Haematopus ostralegus)

Zusammenfassung 1994/95 durchgeführte Vergleichsuntersuchungen zur Belastung von Binnenland- und Wattenmeerbrütern des Austernfischers mit den Bioziden DDT, DDE und HCH sowie den Industriechemikalien PCB, HCB und Hg ergaben in Austernfischer-Eiern vom Unteren Niederrhein signifikant höhere Konzentrationen chlororganischer Verbindungen als in Eiern der Wattenmeerinseln Griend (NL) und Mellum (D). Nur Hg wurde in niederrheinischen Eiern in hoch signifikant geringerer Konzentration gefunden als in Eiern von Brutvögel des Wattenmeeres. Austernfischer-Eier von Griend waren bezüglich der meisten analysierten Parameter geringer belastet als Eier von Mellum (Ausnahmen: pp'DDT, PCB). Von den untersuchten Umweltchemikalien war die PCB-Konzentration in allen drei Untersuchungsgebieten am höchsten. Die hohe PCB-Kontamination am Unteren Niederrhein spiegelt die auch heute noch erhebliche Belastung des Flusses mit Altlasten wider. Weder die Konzentration der untersuchten Industriechemikalien noch die der Biozide dürften von embryotoxischer Wirkung gewesen sein.

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Environmental chemicals in eggs of inland and Wadden Sea breeding Oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus)

Summary Due to the international importance of the Wadden Sea for waders and waterfowl a long-term programme to monitor contamination of birds breeding in the Wadden Sea has been established in the early 1980s. One of the species selected is the Oystercatcher. Comparatively little is known about contamination of birds breeding inland. Therefore, we collected eight eggs of Oystercatchers breeding at the Lower Rhine (district of Kleve) and analysed their contamination with biocides (DDT, DDE, HCH) and industrial chemicals (PCB, HCB, Hg) in comparison to birds breeding on the Wadden Sea islands of Griend (NL) and Mellum (D), where ten eggs were collected in 1994/95. We found distinctive differences between inland and Wadden Sea breeding Oystercatchers. Eggs from the Lower Rhine had significantly higher residues of all organochlorines, whereas concentration of mercury was significantly lower than in those from birds breeding on the Wadden Sea islands. In general, eggs collected on Griend held lower concentrations than those collected on Mellum island, except pp'-DDT and PCB. The high PCB contamination in Ostercatcher eggs from the Lower Rhine nowadays reflects the extreme pollution in the past. However, concentrations of the parameters studied obviously had no embryotoxic effects in Oystercatchers.

     

Radical changes in the Wadden Sea fauna and flora over the last 2,000 years

Humans have interacted with the Wadden Sea since its origin 7,500 years ago. However, exploitation, habitat alteration and pollution have strongly increased since the Middle Ages, affecting abundance and distribution of many marine mammals, birds, fish, invertebrates and plants. Large whales and some large birds disappeared more than 500 years ago. Most small whales, seals, birds, large fish and oysters were severely reduced by the late 19th and early 20th centuries, leading to the collapse of several traditional fisheries. In the 20th century, conservation efforts have enabled some breeding birds and seals to recover. But other species declined further due to continuing exploitation, habitat destruction, pollution and eutrophication. Moreover, complex three-dimensional habitats such as oyster banks, Sabellaria reefs and subtidal eelgrass beds have been lost completely. In contrast, several opportunistic species such as gulls, polychaetes, green algae and exotic invaders increased during the 20th century. Taken together, multiple human impacts have caused dramatic losses of large predators and habitat-building species in the Wadden Sea over the last 500 years. Although still of high natural value and global importance, the Wadden Sea is a fundamentally changed ecosystem. On the other hand, reduced hunting pressure, increased habitat protection and reduced river pollution have enabled the recent recovery of several species and an increase in environmental quality. These successes, together with a historical vision of what was once possible, should guide current and future conservation, restoration and management efforts towards a more sustainable interaction between man and the sea.     

Archaeological evidence of former occurrence and changes in fishes, amphibians, birds, mammals and molluscs in the Wadden Sea area

Animal remains are well preserved in archaeological sites, especially the terp sites, of the Wadden Sea area of Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands. Here, we provide an overview on the wild mammals, birds, fishes, amphibians and molluscs found in coastal sites dating from 2700 to 2600 B.C. and 700 B.C. to A.D. 1600. Coastal people used a variety of animal species for food and other purposes. Hunting, fowling, fishing and agriculture did not have much influence on wild stocks in the period from the late Bronze Age/early Iron Age until the late Middle Ages. However, large changes to the landscape were made in the late Middle Ages by diking and damming. As a result, some species such as the northern vole (Microtus oeconomus) and the natterjack toad (Bufo calamita) disappeared from the area except for some dune districts on the islands, and others became rare, such as the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) and the lagoon cockle (Cerastoderma lamarcki). New habitats arose for birds of dry meadows and fields, like lapwing (Vanellus vanellus) and black-tailed godwit (Limosa limosa). Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio) disappeared from the Wadden Sea within a few decades since A.D. 1890 due to the destruction of spawning grounds by damming and high exploitation pressure. Our findings are important for the ecological history of the region.     

Bio-availability of phosphorus in sediments of the western Dutch Wadden Sea

The purpose of this study was to make a prognosis of the effects of extended purification of terrestrial waste water, reaching the Wadden Sea by the River Rhine and Lake IJssel, on the phosphate concentration in the western Wadden Sea.The quantities of different phosphorus fractions in intertidal and subtidal sediments of the Marsdiep tidal basin (western Dutch Wadden Sea) were measured. Different methods are applied to determine the amount of phosphorus that can be released from these sediments. The direct bioavailability is determined by inoculating sediment suspensions with a natural mixture of precultured micro-organisms from the sampling area. A second approach is the measurement of the phosphate release under different redox conditions. Sequential extraction of sediment samples with different solvents is also applied. Under the present conditions and compared to the nutrient loads from fresh water (Lake IJssel) and from the North Sea, the phosphorus stored in the sediments of the western Dutch Wadden Sea plays a minor role in the total supply to micro-algae and bacteria. The bulk of the biologically available phosphorus in the sediments originates from the metal-associated fraction. Releasable phosphate may contribute to the local annual primary production to an extent of ca 45 to ca 150 g C m^–2 a^–1. The total amount of phosphorus in the sediment (mainly calcite associated) is twice to 6 times the biologically available amount.     

Consumption of benthic fauna by carnivorous birds in the Wadden Sea

Consumption by carnivorous birds was estimated for the Sylt-Rømø tidal inlet in the northern part of the Wadden Sea, as well as the subarea Königshafen, a small, tidal bay. The bird community of the Sylt-Rømø Wadden Sea was dominated by Dunlin (35% of all birds counted), Eider (9%), Oystercatcher (8%), Knot (8%), and Shelduck (7%). The community in the Königshafen was dominated by Eider (20%), Knot (17%), Bar-tailed Godwit (17%), Dunlin (13%), and Oystercatcher (8%). Annual consumption was estimated at 3.4 g AFDW · m^?2 · year^?1 for the entire Sylt-Rømø Wadden Sea and 19.2 g AFDW · m^?2 · year^?1 for the Königshafen. Restricting the calculations to the intertidal area resulted in a consumption of 8.7 g AFDW · m^?2 · year^?1 for the Sylt-Rømø Wadden Sea and 17.6 g AFDW · m^?2 · year^?1 for the Königshafen. In the two areas, consumption was dominated by the Eider with 37% and 60% of the total consumption, respectively. In comparison to the western parts of the Wadden Sea the seasonal pattern of consumption as well as species composition differed, most probably as an effect of different climatic conditions, whereas annual consumption on intertidal flats seems to be in the same order of magnitude. On average, 15–25% of the mean annual macrozoobenthic biomass seems to be taken by carnivorous birds in the Wadden Sea, which is in the same order of magnitude as in other northern temperate estuarine areas.     

A review of data on production and import of organic carbon in the western Wadden Sea

Summary Annual phytoplankton primary production in the tidal channels of the western Wadden Sea cannot be estimated more precisely than 150±50 g C.m^–2a^–1, due to large spatial and short-term temporal variations. This implies that year-to-year variations and eventually long-term trends have to be very pronounced to be measurable even with a weekly sampling program.Short-term temporal variation in primary production of microphytobenthos living on the tidal flats is less pronounced, but spatial variation is large. Primary production on high tidal flats is larger than on flats lower in the tidal zone. Year-to-year variation on a tidal flat station occupied now for 12 years was large. This variation cannot be explained by year-to-year variations in nutrients, light or temperature, but probably by year-to-year variations in grazing. Macrophytobenthic primary production plays a subordinate role in the western Wadden Sea after the disappearance ofZostera fields. It is difficult to give one figure for the annual primary production of an average tidal flat due to the variations mentioned. Tentatively, microphytobenthic plus macrophytobenthic plus phytoplankton primary production on and above an average tidal flat is estimated at 150±50 g C.m^–2a^–1,i.e. the same as estimated for phytoplankton primary production in the tidal channels.The western Wadden Sea receives a considerable amount of particulate organic carbon from outside the area, estimated at 240 g C.m^–2a^–1. Formerly the North Sea was thought to be the only source. New data indicate also an import from the Ysselmeer. The import of total organic carbon, particulate plus dissolved, from the Ysselmeer exceedsin situ primary production. From this import Ysselmeer DOC is probably not used very much in the Wadden Sea. However, Ysselmeer POC, consisting for 50% on average of living phytoplankton cells, may form a suitable food source for Wadden Sea invertebrates. Cell counts ofScenedesmus sp., a freshwater alga used as a natural tracer for Ysselmeer POC in the western Wadden Sea, indicate that a large part of the Ysselmeer POC is retained here.     

Long-Term Changes in Nutrients and Mussel Stocks Are Related to Numbers of Breeding Eiders Somateria mollissima at a Large Baltic Colony

Background

The Baltic/Wadden Sea eider Somateria mollissima flyway population is decreasing, and this trend is also reflected in the large eider colony at Christiansø situated in the Baltic Sea. This colony showed a 15-fold increase from 1925 until the mid-1990''s, followed by a rapid decline in recent years, although the causes of this trend remain unknown. Most birds from the colony winter in the Wadden Sea, from which environmental data and information on the size of the main diet, the mussel Mytilus edulis stock exists. We hypothesised that changes in nutrients and water temperature in the Wadden Sea had an effect on the ecosystem affecting the size of mussel stocks, the principal food item for eiders, thereby influencing the number of breeding eider in the Christiansø colony.

Methodology/Principal Finding

A positive relationship between the amount of fertilizer used by farmers and the concentration of phosphorus in the Wadden Sea (with a time lag of one year) allowed analysis of the predictions concerning effects of nutrients for the period 1925–2010. There was (1) increasing amounts of fertilizer used in agriculture and this increased the amount of nutrients in the marine environment thereby increasing the mussel stocks in the Wadden Sea. (2) The number of eiders at Christiansø increased when the amount of fertilizer increased. Finally (3) the number of eiders in the colony at Christiansø increased with the amount of mussel stocks in the Wadden Sea.

Conclusions/Significance

The trend in the number of eiders at Christiansø is representative for the entire flyway population, and since nutrient reduction in the marine environment occurs in most parts of Northwest Europe, we hypothesize that this environmental candidate parameter is involved in the overall regulation of the Baltic/Wadden Sea eider population during recent decades.     

Beiträge zum Mesozooplankton des Nordsylter Wattenmeers

Contributions to the mesozooplankton of the northern Wadden Sea of Sylt. From June 1975 to June 1976 temperature, salinity, mesozooplankton (>76 µm), phytoplankton and seston (dry weight, particulate organic carbon and nitrogen) were measured at different stations in the northern Wadden Sea of Sylt (German Bight, North Sea). Maxima of the planktonic copepods, which form the biggest part of the zooplankton, occurred in the summer months from June to September. Larval development from nauplii to adults was observed inAcartia clausi, Acartia discaudata, Centropages hamatus andTemora longicornis; generation times ranged from 3 (Temora longicornis) to 7 1/2 weeks (Centropages hamatus) at ca. 20 °C. Organic carbon produced by zooplankton was about 0.4 g C m^–3 year^–1 and zooplanktonic carbon decomposed in the area studied amounted to about 1.4 g C m^–3 year^–1. Meroplanktonic larvae made up ca. 60 % of the organic carbon produced by zooplankton, indicating great influence of the benthos on the water column in this very shallow part of the German Bight.     

Umweltchemikalien in Eiern des Alpenstrandl?ufers (Calidris alpina) aus Nordnorwegen im Vergleich zu Eiern von Brutvogelarten des Wattenmeeres

Zusammenfassung Im Frühjahr 1993 wurden die Konzentrationen von 20 organischen Umweltchemikalien sowie von Quecksilber in den Eiern von acht Brutvogelarten im Gebiet der Wattenmeerinsel Spiekeroog ermittelt (BrandgansTadorna tadorna; EiderenteSomateria mollissima; AusternfischerHaematopus ostralegus; S?belschn?blerRecurvirostra avosetta; RotschenkelTringa totanus; Lachm?weLarus ridibundus; Silberm?weLarus argentatus; Flu?seeschwalbeSterna hirundo) und mit Eiern des Alpenstrandl?ufers (Calidris alpina alpina) von einem Brutplatz in Nordnorwegen (Gamvik) verglichen. Die dortigen V?gel nutzen das Wattenmeer au?erhalb der Brutzeit. H?chste Σ-PCB wiesen Flu?seeschwalben- und Silberm?weneier auf. Quecksilber war in Eiern von Eiderente, Austernfischer und Flu?seeschwalbe am h?chsten konzentriert sowie Σ-DDT in Lachm?weneiern. Bromocyclen konnten in keiner Eiprobe der acht Wattenmeerarten nachgewiesen werden, Moschusxylol in 29% und Octachlorstyrol in 57%. Die Umweltchemikalienkonzentrationen lagen in den meisten F?llen über der gesetzlichen H?chstmenge bzw. dem Richtwert für Eier, die zur menschlichen Ern?hrung bestimmt sind, erreichten aber wahrscheinlich keine den Bruterfolg gef?hrdenden Konzentrationen. Im Vergleich zu den Rückst?nden in den Eiern der acht Brutvogelarten des Wattenmeeres waren die Eier des Alpenstrandl?ufers aus Nordnorwegen moderat belastet und zeigten ein ?hnliches Umweltchemikalienmuster wie Eier von nicht ganzj?hrig im Wattenmeer anwesenden Watvogelarten. Beim Alpenstrandl?ufer konnten erstmalig Bromocylen-Rückst?nde in Vogeleiern nachgewiesen werden.

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Environmental chemicals in eggs of Dunlins (Calidris alpina) from Northern Norway compared to eggs of coastal bird species breeding in the Wadden Sea

Summary Owing to the international importance of the Wadden Sea for waders and waterfowl a long-term program to monitor chemical contamination of birds breeding in the Wadden Sea has been established in the early 1980s with Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) and Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) as monitor species. However, numbers of birds breeding in the area are only 10% compared to numbers of birds using it as a wintering, moulting or staging area, and little is known about contamination of those non-breeding birds. In 1993 we compared contamination levels in eggs from eight species (ShelduckTadorna tadorna; EiderSomateria mollissima; Oystercatcher; AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta; RedshankTringa totanus; Black-headed GullLarus ridibundus; Herring GullLarus argentatus; Common Tern) breeding at the island of Spiekeroog (German Wadden Sea) with those from Dunlins (Calidris alpina alpina) breeding in Northern Norway (Gamvik). It is known that many Dunlin from this area use the German Wadden Sea for staging. We analyzed contaminant levels of 21 industrial chemicals (PCBs, HCB, Moschusxylol, Octachlorstyrol, Mercury) and biocides (DDT and metabolites, HCH-Isomers, Bromocyclen). Common Tern and Herring Gull eggs reached highest Σ-PCB levels whereas mercury had the highest concentrations in eggs of Eider, Oystercatcher and Common Tern as well as Σ-DDT in eggs of Black-headed Gull. Bromocyclen could not be detected in eggs of the breeding species, whereas Moschusxylol was found in 29% of the eggs and Octachlorostyrol in 57%. Contaminant levels were in most cases above the levels given by German law for eggs used for human food but are probably not high enough to show an effect on the breeding success of the different species. In comparison to these results contaminant levels in eggs of Dunlins from Northern Norway were low and showed a similar chemical pattern as for migrating waders breeding in the Wadden Sea detected. For the first time Bromocyclen residues could be detected in bird eggs.

     

Two estimates of the metabolic costs of antibody production in migratory shorebirds: low costs, internal reallocation, or both?

We measured the costs of mounting a humoral immune response using two novel antigens (tetanus and diphtheria) in two shorebird species (Scolopacidae): Red Knot (Calidris canutus, measured in autumn) and Ruff (Philomachus pugnax, measured in spring). Metabolic rate was measured during the preinjection phase, at the building phase of the primary immune response, and at peak secondary immune response by determining the oxygen consumption of the postabsorptive birds at rest. Confirming earlier studies, Red Knots and Ruffs responded with lower antibody titers to the diphtheria than to the tetanus antigen. Although Red Knots and Ruffs produced the same amounts of antibodies, Red Knots showed a significant 13% increase in basal metabolic rate (BMR) during the secondary antibody response, whereas Ruffs showed a 15%, but only marginally significant, reduction in BMR. The results from this study suggest that the energetic costs of an immune response may be small, but the "negative cost" in Ruffs hints at the possibility of resource reallocation and the concomitant difficulty of measuring such costs during "basal" metabolic rate measurements.     

7. SHORT NOTES FROM MEMBERS

Cooper, J., Ross, G. J. B. &; Shaughnessy, P. D. 1978. Seasonal and spatial distribution of Rockhopper Penguins ashore in South Africa. Ostrich 49:40-44. There are 30 records of Rockhopper Penguins Eudyptes chrysocome ashore in South Africa. Both the southern subspecies E.c. chrysocome, and the northern subspecies E.c. moseleyi have been recorded. The northern subspecies has occurred more frequently. Most records are of moulting juveniles in January and February. Records of adult birds are more scattered throughout the year. Rockhopper Penguins in South Africa have been recorded only south of 30S. Birds of the northern subspecies probably originate from South Atlantic islands (Tristan da Cunha group and Gough). Birds of the southern subspecies are probably from the Prince Edward Islands.