RAPID: Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Impacts on migratory shorebirds and carry-over effects

该项目的目的是评估深水地平线漏油对迁徙的滨鸟的直接影响，以及漏油对这些鸟类在夏季繁殖的遥远生态系统的影响。冬季栖息地退化对繁殖成功的影响已在几种鸟类中得到记录，这不仅对滨鸟种群，而且对滨鸟繁殖所在的整个生态系统都很重要。研究人员将就个体鸟类的毒理状态、环境中的污染水平、食物可获得性、存活率、随后繁殖成功的相关性以及四种小型越冬滨鸟的其他健康指标来比较暴露在石油中的控制点和未受影响的控制点。结果将是确定个体的毒物状况和环境状况如何导致适合度和繁殖成功的相关性的差异。这项工作将为开发种群模型和进一步研究提供基础，旨在记录石油泄漏对这些鸟类繁衍的遥远北极生态系统的影响。这项工作将突出墨西哥湾栖息地作为滨鸟迁徙越冬地的重要性，为保护受威胁的沿海栖息地和鸟类物种提供基线信息，并展示重大环境灾害可能在全球范围内影响生态系统的多种方式。该项目的一部分将是开发一种使用鸟类粪便样本来测量食用油摄入量的新方法。该项目将为1名博士生、4名本科生和1名博士后研究员提供培训。公民科学家将参与帮助重新观察有条纹的鸟类。

The aim of this project is to assess both the direct impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on migrating shorebirds as well as the carry-over effects of the spill on distant ecosystems where these birds breed during summer months. Carry-over effects on breeding success resulting from the degradation of winter habitat have been documented in several avian species and are important not only to shorebird populations but also to the entire ecosystems in which the shorebirds breed. The investigators will compare oil-exposed versus unaffected control sites with respect to the toxicological status of individual birds, contamination levels in the environment, food availability, survival, correlates of subsequent breeding success, and other indicators of fitness for four small wintering shorebirds. The outcome will be to determine how individual toxicological status and environmental status contribute to variation in measures of fitness and correlates of breeding success. This work will provide a foundation for the development of population models and further studies aimed at documenting the effects of the oil spill on the distant, Arctic ecosystems where these birds breed. This work will highlight the importance of Gulf of Mexico habitats as wintering grounds for migrating shorebirds, providing baseline information for the conservation of threatened coastal habitats and bird species and demonstrating the multiple ways in which a major environment disaster can affect ecosystems on a global scale. Part of this project will be to develop a novel assay for measuring oil ingestion using fecal samples of birds. This project will provide training for one PhD student, four undergraduates and one postdoctoral researcher. Citizen scientists will be engaged to help re-sight banded birds.