Birds seabirds

Birds. In avian populations, organochlorine-associated suppression of T-cell mediated immune response has been found in herring gull and Caspian tern colonies adjacent to the Great Lakes in Northern America.In the most severe cases, immune response was suppressed by up to 50%. Similarly, seabirds exposed to petrochemicals from oil spills have been found to have suppressed immune function. " ... 

Burger J, Gochfeld M. 2002. Effects of chemicals and pollution on seabirds. In Schreiber EA, Burger J, editors, Biology of marine birds. Boca Raton (FL) CRC Press. 

In addition to their role in chemical defense, DMSP-lyase products may also function as chemical cue in more complex trophic cascades. In the natural environment DMS-production is related to zooplankton herbivory [60] and can thus act as an indicator for the availability of food for planktivorous birds. Indeed, some Antarctic Procellariiform seabirds can detect DMS (22) and are highly attracted to the cue, as was shown with DMS-scented oil slicks on the ocean surface [61]. The odors released during zooplankton grazing (DMS) as well as those of zooplankton itself (e.g., trimethylamine and pyrazines) are attractive to birds [62], thus assisting vertebrate search behavior. 

There is a strong relationship between the food of birds from Minamata and the mercury content in feathers the content is highest in fish-eating seabirds and lowest in herbivorous waterfowl (Doi et al. 1984 Table 5.4). This same relationship held in birds collected from China and Korea,... 

Mestel, Rosie. Hitch s birds deranged by dodgy anchovies (toxicity of domoic acid in Alfred Hitchcock s seabirds). New Scientist 147.nl987 Quly 22,1995) 6(1). Expanded Academic HSHR Thomson Gale. EIN Remote Access. 29 Mar. 2007. 

We now know that some bird taxa use their sense of smell in foraging. These include kiwis, vultures, seabirds, and honey guides. Others, such as seed-burying birds, and oilbirds, most likely use olfaction for finding food. 

Charcoal is made from wood ashes, sulfur is mined, and potassium nitrate (called Chilean saltpeter) was mined from dry cliffs on the coast of Chile, where fish-eating seabirds had their nests and restroom facilities. Over many centuries, this source accumulated in layers mary feet thick, and this was adequate for all nitrate needs until the end of the nineteenth century when deposits began to deplete faster than birds could replenish them and transportation and purification (odor is just part of the problem) kept costs high-... 

PIB is considered as nontoxic. Nevertheless, a severe accident has been reported (84). In December 1998 a mass stranding of seabirds at the North Sea coast was observed. The birds were covered in a whitish, sticky substance. This substance was identified as PIB. It has been suspected that the PIB has been dumped into the sea from a ship. 

In conclusion, historically it appears that there have been several AHR-mediated effects in seabirds in the Great Lakes, which probably contributed to reproductive failure and an increased incidence of live-abnormalities (in cormorants), but most of these were due to the effect of AHR PCB congeners, primarily PCB 126. The exceptions may be Lake Ontario and Saginaw Bay, where 2378-TeCDD concentrations and all PCDD/F concentrations, respectively, were very high in the 1970s. Contemporary AHR-mediated effects in Great Lakes seabirds are more likely to be subtle, such as effects on immune system function and fatty acid synthesis, rather than population-level effects such as reduction in reproductive success. Hoffman et al. [116] reviewed PCB and PCDD/F toxicity in birds. 

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