Northern fulmar

The anatomy of the northern fulmar s olfactory bulbs is better suited for powerful odor detection than for keen odor discrimination. The periglomerular and external tufted cells are relatively sparse. These cells are important for superior odor discrimination in macrosmatic mammals. The interior granule cells are also loosely organized (Meisami and Wenzel, 1987). 

Hutchison, L. V., Wenzel, B. H., Stager, K. E. and Tedford, B. L. (1984). Further evidence for olfactory foraging by Sooty Shearwater and Northern Fulmars. In Marine Birds Their Feeding Ecology and Commercial Fisheries Relationships, ed. D. N. Nettleship, G. A. Sanger, and P. F. Springer, pp. 78-89. Ottawa Canadian Wildlife Service Special Publication. 

Meisami, E. and Wenzel, B. (1987). Is the northern fulmar s large olfactory bulb designed for high sensitivity in odor detection Chemical Senses 12,681-682. 

Prince Leopold Devon Islands, Canada Northern fulmar eggs 10 114-236 [24]... 

Few studies were available to evaluate the temporal change of mirex in bird samples. The only studies of mirex in seabird eggs were conducted by Braune et al. (2001) on the temporal trends from 1975 to 1998 in the Canadian Arctic. A decreased trend of mirex levels was only observed in eggs of black-legged kittiwakes but not in northern fulmars and thickbilled murres. The levels of mirex that were measured in the eggs of the studied animals ranged from 0.003 to 0.013 pg g-1 wet wt. in 1998. There did not appear to be any consistent change in the proportions over the study period (Braune et al., 2001). No information is available on the level of mirex in waterbirds in China. 

There were declining trends of the total DDT// ,//-DDE residues in seabird eggs in the Canadian Arctic and the Alaskan Arctic. The levels of total DDT in the eggs of black-legged kittiwakes, northern fulmars and thick-billed murres that were collected in the Canadian Arctic reduced from 1975 to 1998 (Braune et al., 2001). 

Table 1. Estimated volumes (cc) of one cerebral hemisphere and one olfactory bulb in the Northern Fulmar, Sooty Shearwater, and Rock... 

Fig. 3. Sagittal photomicrographs of olfactory bulb of Sooty Shearwater, Northern Fulmar, and Rock Dove coronal view of House Sparrow olfactory bulb. Calibration line is 0.5 mm for the first three and 0.1 mm for the sparrow.

In more extensive studies (Hutchison and Wenzel, 1980 Hutchison et al., 1984) under natural conditions at sea off central California, the release of odors of cod liver oil, squid homogenate, or krill homogenate was followed by the appearance of Northern Fulmars and Sooty Shearwaters from downwind, most of which flew very close to the buoy with its releasing wick and many of which made repeated approaches in an investigative manner. 

A recent report (Van Franeker et al, 2004) reported that 98% of Northern Fulmars from the North Sea had one or more pieces of plastic in the stomach (average 32 pieces or 0.34 g per bird). 

Van Franeker, J.A. and Meijboom, A., Marine Litter Monitoring by Northern Fulmars - Progress Report 2002, Published on 31 March 2003, Last accessed at www.alterra.wur.nl on 3 July 2005. Wang, J.H. and Schertz, D.M. (2000) US Patent 6,020,425, assigned to Kimberley Clark. 

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