Geology topics

David J. Hoffman

Publications and source records attributed to David J. Hoffman.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2014

Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction

San Francisco Bay Estuary in northern California has a legacy of mercury contamination, which could reduce the health and reproductive success of waterbirds in the estuary. The goal of this study was to use an integrated field and laboratory approach to evaluate the risks of mercury exposure to birds in the estuary. We examined mercury bioaccumulation, and other contaminants of concern, in five waterbird species that depend heavily on San Francisco Bay Estuary for foraging and breeding habitat: American avocets ( Recurvirostra americana ), black-necked stilts ( Himantopus mexicanus ), Forster’s terns ( Sterna forsteri ), Caspian terns ( Hydroprogne caspia ), and surf scoters ( Melanitta perspicillata ). These species have different foraging habitats and diets that represent three distinct foraging guilds within the estuary’s food web. In this report, we provide an integrated synthesis of the primary findings from this study and results are synthesized from 54 peer-reviewed publications generated to date with other unpublished results.

California↗

USGS2012

Gene expression, glutathione status and indicators of hepatic oxidative stress in laughing gull (Larus atricilla) hatchlings exposed to methylmercury

Despite extensive studies of methylmercury (MeHg) toxicity in birds, molecular effects on birds are poorly characterized. To improve our understanding of toxicity pathways and identify novel indicators of avian exposure to Hg, the authors investigated genomic changes, glutathione status, and oxidative status indicators in liver from laughing gull (Larus atricilla) hatchlings that were exposed in ovo to MeHg (0.05–1.6 µg/g). Genes involved in the transsulfuration pathway, iron transport and storage, thyroid-hormone related processes, and cellular respiration were identified by suppression subtractive hybridization as differentially expressed. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) identified statistically significant effects of Hg on cytochrome C oxidase subunits I and II, transferrin, and methionine adenosyltransferase RNA expression. Glutathione-S-transferase activity and protein-bound sulfhydryl levels decreased, whereas glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity increased dose-dependently. Total sulfhydryl concentrations were significantly lower at 0.4 µg/g Hg than in controls. T ogether, these endpoints provided some evidence of compensatory effects, but little indication of oxidative damage at the tested doses, and suggest that sequestration of Hg through various pathways may be important for minimizing toxicity in laughing gulls. This is the first study to describe the genomic response of an avian species to Hg. Laughing gulls are among the less sensitive avian species with regard to Hg toxicity, and their ability to prevent hepatic oxidative stress may be important for surviving levels of MeHg exposures at which other species succumb.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2011

A comparison of the teratogenicity of methylmercury and selenomethionine injected into bird eggs

Methylmercury chloride and seleno-L-methionine were injected separately or in combinations into the fertile eggs of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), chickens (Gallus gallus), and double-crested cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus), and the incidence and types of teratogenic effects were recorded. For all three species,selenomethionine alone caused more deformities than did methylmercury alone. When mallard eggs were injected with the lowest dose of selenium (Se) alone (0.1 μg/g), 28 of 44 embryos and hatchlings were deformed, whereas when eggs were injected with the lowest dose of mercury (Hg) alone (0.2 μg/g), only 1 of 56 embryos or hatchlings was deformed. Mallard embryos seemed to be more sensitive to the teratogenic effects of Se than chicken embryos:0 of 15 chicken embryos or hatchlings from eggs injected with 0.1 μg/g Se exhibited deformities. Sample sizes were small with double-crested cormorant eggs, but they also seemed to be less sensitive to the teratogenic effects of Se than mallard eggs. There were no obvious differences among species regarding Hg-induced deformities. Overall, few interactions were apparent between methylmercury and selenomethionine with respect to the types of deformities observed. However, the deformities spina bifida and craniorachischisis were observed only when Hg and Se were injected in combination. One paradoxical finding was that some doses of methylmercury seemed to counteract the negative effect selenomethionine had on hatching of eggs while at the same time enhancing the negative effect selenomethionine had on creating deformities. When either methylmercury or selenomethionine is injected into avian eggs, deformities start to occur at much lower concentrations than when the Hg or Se is deposited naturally in the egg by the mother.

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗

USGS2011

Lead exposure and poisoning of songbirds using the Coeur d'Alene River Basin, Idaho, USA

Previous studies have found widespread Pb poisoning of waterfowl in the Coeur d'Alene River Basin in northern Idaho, USA, which has been contaminated by mining and smelting activities. We studied the exposure of ground-feeding songbirds to Pb, sampling 204 American robins ( Turdus migratorius ), song sparrows ( Melospiza melodia ), and Swainson's thrushes ( Catharus ustulatus ) throughout the basin. These songbirds had mean blood Pb concentrations (mg/kg, dry weight) of less than 0.19 at a reference area (25 mg Pb/kg soil), 1.09 at moderately contaminated sites (170 to 1300 mg Pb/kg soil), and 2.06 at highly contaminated sites (2000 to 5000 mg Pb/kg soil). Based on guidelines for evaluating blood Pb in birds, 6% of robins from the highly contaminated sites had background concentrations, 24% were subclinically poisoned, 52% were clinically poisoned, and 18% were severely clinically poisoned with Pb. Blood Pb concentrations were lower in song sparrows than in robins and lowest in Swainson's thrushes. More than half of the robins and song sparrows from all contaminated sites and more than half of the Swainson's thrushes from highly contaminated sites showed at least 50% inhibition of the activity of the enzyme δ-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase (ALAD), commonly used as a measure of exposure to Pb. The highest hepatic Pb concentration of 61 mg/kg (dry weight) was detected in a song sparrow. Using Al as a marker for soil in songbird ingesta, we estimated average soil ingestion rates as 20% in robins, 17% in song sparrows, and 0.7% in Swainson's thrushes. Soil Pb in ingesta accounted for almost all of the songbirds' exposure to Pb. Based on these results, it is recommended that ecological risk assessments of ground-feeding songbirds at contaminated sites include soil ingestion as a pathway of exposure to Pb.

Idaho↗

USGS2011

Teratogenic efects of injected methylmercury on avian embryos

Controlled laboratory studies with game farm mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) and chickens ( Gallus gallus ) have demonstrated that methylmercury can cause teratogenic effects in birds, but studies with wild species of birds are lacking. To address this need, doses of methylmercury chloride were injected into the eggs of 25 species of birds, and the dead embryos and hatched chicks were examined for external deformities. When data for controls were summed across all 25 species tested and across all types of deformities, 24 individuals out of a total of 1,533 (a rate of 1.57%) exhibited at least one deformity. In contrast, when data for all of the mercury treatments and all 25 species were summed, 188 deformed individuals out of a total of 2,292 (8.20%) were found. Some deformities, such as lordosis and scoliosis (twisting of the spine), misshapen heads, shortening or twisting of the neck, and deformities of the wings, were seldom observed in controls but occurred in much greater frequency in Hg-treated individuals. Only 0.59% of individual control dead embryos and hatchlings exhibited multiple deformities versus 3.18% for Hg-dosed dead embryos and hatchlings. Methylmercury seems to have a widespread teratogenic potential across many species of birds.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2011

Selenium concentrations and enzyme activities of glutathione metabolism in wild long-tailed ducks and common eiders

The relationships of selenium (Se) concentrations in whole blood with plasma activities of total glutathione peroxidase, Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase were studied in long-tailed ducks ( Clangula hyemalis ) and common eiders ( Somateria mollissima ) sampled along the Beaufort Sea coast of Alaska, USA. Blood Se concentrations were >8 μg/g wet weight in both species. Linear regression revealed that the activities of total and Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase were significantly related to Se concentrations only in long-tailed ducks, raising the possibility that these birds were experiencing early oxidative stress.

Alaska↗

USGS2011

Hormesis associated with a low dose of methylmercury injected into mallard eggs

We injected mallard ( Anas platyrhynchos ) eggs with methylmercury chloride at doses of 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6, 3.2, and 6.4 μg mercury/g egg contents on a wet-weight basis. A case of hormesis seemed to occur because hatching success of eggs injected with 0.05 μg/g mercury (the lowest dose) was significantly greater (93.3%) than that of controls (72.6%), whereas hatching success decreased at progressively greater doses of mercury. Our finding of hormesis when a low dose of methylmercury was injected into eggs agrees with a similar observation in a study in which a group of female mallards was fed a low dietary concentration of methylmercury and hatching of their eggs was significantly better than that of controls. If methylmercury has a hormetic effect at low concentrations in avian eggs, these low concentrations may be important in a regulatory sense in that they may represent a no-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL).

Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxico↗

USGS2011

Oxidative stress response of Forster's terns (Sterna forsteri) and Caspian terns (Hydroprogne caspia) to mercury and selenium bioaccumulation in liver, kidney, and brain

Bioindicators of oxidative stress were examined in prebreeding and breeding adult and chick Forster's terns ( Sterna forsteri ) and in prebreeding adult Caspian terns ( Hydroprogne caspia ) in San Francisco Bay, California. Highest total mercury (THg) concentrations (mean±standard error;μg/g dry wt) in liver (17.7±1.7), kidney (20.5±1.9), and brain (3.0±0.3) occurred in breeding adult Forster's terns. The THg concentrations in liver were significantly correlated with hepatic depletion of reduced glutathione (GSH), increased oxidized glutathione (GSSG):GSH ratio, and decreased hepatic gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity in adults of both tern species. Prefledging Forster's tern chicks with one-fourth the hepatic THg concentration of breeding adults exhibited effects similar to adults. Total mercury-related renal GSSG increased in adults and chicks. In brains of prebreeding adults, THg was correlated with a small increase in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) activity, suggestive of a compensatory response. Brain THg concentrations were highest in breeding adult Forster's terns and brain tissue exhibited increased lipid peroxidation as thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, loss of protein bound thiols (PBSH), and decreased activity of antioxidant enzymes, GSSG reductase (GSSGrd), and G-6-PDH. In brains of Forster's tern chicks there was a decrease in total reduced thiols and PBSH. Multiple indicator responses also pointed to greater oxidative stress in breeding Forster's terns relative to prebreeding terns, attributable to the physiological stress of reproduction. Some biondicators also were related to age and species, including thiol concentrations. Enzymes GGT, G-6-PDH, and GSSGred activities were related to species. Our results indicate that THg concentrations induced oxidative stress in terns, and suggest that histopathological, immunological, and behavioral effects may occur in terns as reported in other species.

California↗

USGS2011

Effects of lead-contaminated sediment and nutrition on mallard duckling behavior and growth

Sediment ingestion has become a recognized exposure route for toxicants in waterfowl. The effects of lead-contaminated sediment from the Coeur d’Alene River Basin (CDARB) in Idaho were evaluated on mallard (Anas platyryhnchos) duckling behavior and growth over a 5-wk period using time–activity budgets. Day-old ducklings received either a clean sediment (24%) supplemented control diet, CDARB sediment (3449 μg/g lead) supplemented diets at 12% or 24%, or a positive control diet (24% clean sediment with equivalent lead acetate to the 24% CDARB diet). Ten different behaviors were recorded for nine ducklings per treatment as time spent: resting, standing, moving, drinking, dabbling, feeding, pecking, preening, bathing, and swimming. Contaminated sediment (24% CDARB) and lead acetate significantly decreased the proportion of time spent swimming. There were also problems with balance and mobility in the 24% CDARB and the lead acetate groups. With a less optimal diet (mixture of two-thirds corn and one-third standard diet) containing 24% clean sediment, nutrient level alone affected 6 different behaviors: feeding, pecking, swimming, preening, standing, and dabbling. Nutrient level also significantly decreased the growth rate and delayed the initial time of molt. When the corn diet contained CDARB sediment, the proportion of time spent bathing in the 24% CDARB group significantly decreased. There were also instances of imbalance with 24% CDARB and corn diet, and duckling weights were significantly lower than in corn diet controls. The decreased amounts of time spent swimming or bathing, coupled with problems of balance and mobility, decreased growth, histopathological lesions, and altered brain biochemistry (reported elsewhere), illustrate a potential threat to the survival of ducklings in the wild that are exposed to lead-containing sediments within the CDARB or elsewhere.

Idaho↗

USGS2010

Developmental toxicity of lead-contaminated sediment in Canada geese (Branta canadensis)

Sediment ingestion has recently been identified as an important exposure route for toxicants in waterfowl. The effects of lead-contaminated sediment from the Coeur d'Alene River Basin (CDARB) in Idaho on posthatching development of Canada geese (Branta canadensis) were examined for 6 wk. Day-old goslings received either untreated control diet, clean sediment (48%) supplemented control diet, or CDARB sediment (3449 mug/g lead) supplemented diets at 12%, 24%, or 48%. The 12% CDARB diet resulted in a geometric mean blood lead concentration of 0.68 ppm (ww), with over 90% depression of red blood cell ALAD activity and over fourfold elevation of free erythrocyte protoporphyrin concentration. The 24% CDARB diet resulted in blood lead of 1.61 ppm with decreased hematocrit, hemoglobin, and plasma protein in addition to the effects just described. The 48% CDARB diet resulted in blood lead of 2.52 ppm with 22% mortality, decreased growth, and elevated plasma lactate dehydrogenase-L (LDH-L) activity. In this group the liver lead concentration was 6.57 ppm (ww), with twofold increases in hepatic lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances, TBARS) and in reduced glutathione concentration; associated effects included elevated glutathione reductase activity but lower protein-bound thiols concentration and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PDH) activity. The kidney lead concentration in this group was 14.93 ppm with subacute renal tubular nephrosis in one of the surviving goslings. Three other geese in this treatment group exhibited calcified areas of marrow, and one of these displayed severe chronic fibrosing pancreatitis. Lead from CDARB sediment accumulated less readily in gosling blood and tissues than reported in ducklings but at given concentrations was generally more toxic to goslings. Many of these effects were similar to those reported in wild geese and mallards within the Coeur d'Alene River Basin.

Idaho↗

USGS2010

Relating the ability of mallards to ingest high levels of sediment to potential contaminant exposure in waterfowl

When waterfowl feed from the bottom of bodies of water, they sometimes ingest sediments along with their food, and this sediment can be a major source of contaminants. Learning how much sediment waterfowl can consume in their diet and still maintain their health would be helpful in assessing potential threats from contaminants in sediment. In a controlled laboratory study the maximum tolerated percentage of sediment in the diet of mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) was measured. When fed a well‐balanced commercial avian diet, 50, 60, or 70% sediment in the diet on a dry‐weight basis did not cause weight loss over a two‐week period. Ducks fed this same commercial diet, but containing 80 or 90% sediment, lost 8.6 and 15.6% of their body weight, respectively, in the first week on those diets. After factoring in the ability of the mallards to sieve out some of the sediment from their diet before swallowing it, we concluded that the mallards could maintain their health even when approximately half of what they swallowed, on a dry‐weight basis, was sediment.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2010

Reproduction in mallards exposed to dietary concentrations of methylmercury

The purpose of this experiment was to use mallards ( Anas platyrhynchos ) tested under controlled conditions to determine how much harm to reproduction resulted from various concentrations of mercury in eggs. Breeding pairs of mallards were fed a control diet or diets containing 1, 2, 4, or 8 μg/g mercury, as methylmercury chloride. Mean concentrations of mercury in eggs laid by parents fed 0, 1, 2, 4, or 8 μg/g mercury were 0.0, 1.6, 3.7, 5.9, and 14 μg/g mercury on a wet-weight basis. There were no signs of mercury poisoning in the adults, and fertility and hatching success of eggs were not affected by mercury. Survival of ducklings and the number of ducklings produced per female were reduced by the 4 and 8-μg/g dietary mercury treatments (that resulted in 5.9 and 14 μg/g mercury in their eggs, respectively). Ducklings from parents fed the various mercury diets were just as heavy as controls at hatching, but by 6 days of age ducklings whose parents had been fed 4 or 8 μg/g mercury weighed less than controls. Because we do not know if absorption of mercury from our diets would be the same as absorption from natural foods, the mercury concentrations we report in eggs may be more useful in extrapolating to possible harmful effects in nature than are the dietary levels we fed. We conclude that mallard reproduction does not appear to be particularly sensitive to methylmercury.

Ecotoxicology↗

USGS2010

Intraperitoneal injections as a possible means of generating varied levels of methylmercury in the eggs of birds in field studies

The ideal study of the effects of methylmercury on the reproductive success of a species of bird would be one in which eggs contained mercury concentrations ranging from controls to very heavily contaminated, all at the same site. Such a study cannot be realized at a mercury contaminated area or under laboratory conditions, but could be achieved by introducing methylmercury into breeding females and allowing them to deposit mercury in their eggs. Female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were intraperitoneally injected with solutions of methylmercury chloride dissolved in corn oil, propylene glycol, dimethyl sulfoxide, mineral oil, Olestra, Crisco, lard, hard paraffin, and a combination of hard and soft paraffin. In some cases, egg laying was delayed, either due to the solvent itself (in the case of Olestra, Crisco, and lard) or to the highest concentration of methylmercury chloride (500 μg/g) in some of the solvents. Mercury in eggs ranged from a control level (< 0.1 μg/g) to approximately 14 μg/g on a wet weight basis, which more than covers the range of concentrations reported in wild bird eggs. Mercury concentrations in a series of eggs from the same female declined mostly due to excretion of mercury in prior eggs and not because of the length of time since the injection. Intraperitoneal injections hold promise in field studies where one would like to study the reproductive effects of a wide range of methylmercury levels in the eggs of a wild bird and under the natural conditions that exist in the field.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2010

Evidence of weak contaminant-related oxidative stress in glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from the Canadian arctic

Environmental contaminants are transported over great distances to Arctic ecosystems, where they can accumulate in wildlife. Whether contaminant concentrations in wildlife are sufficient to produce adverse effects remains poorly understood. Exposure to contaminants elevates oxidative stress with possible fitness consequences. The glaucous gull ( Larus hyperboreus ), an Arctic top predator, was used as a bioindicator for investigating relationships between contaminant levels (organochlorines and polychlorinated biphenyls [OC/PCB], mercury [Hg], and selenium [Se]) and measures of oxidative stress (glutathione [GSH] metabolism and lipid peroxidation) in Canadian Arctic ecosystems. Contaminant levels were low and associations between contaminant exposure and oxidative stress were weak. Nevertheless, glutathione peroxidase activity rose with increasing hepatic Se concentrations, levels of thiols declined as Hg and OC/PCB levels rose, and at one of the two study sites levels of lipid peroxidation were elevated with increasing levels of hepatic Hg. These results suggest the possibility of a deleterious effect of exposure to contaminants on gull physiology even at low contaminant exposures.

Arctic↗

USGS2009

Predicting mercury concentrations in mallard eggs from mercury in the diet or blood of adult females and from duckling down feathers

Measurements of Hg concentrations in avian eggs can be used to predict possible harm to reproduction, but it is not always possible to sample eggs. When eggs cannot be sampled, some substitute tissue, such as female blood, the diet of the breeding female, or down feathers of hatchlings, must be used. When female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) were fed diets containing methylmercury chloride, the concentration of Hg in a sample of their blood was closely correlated with the concentration of Hg in the egg they laid the day they were bled (r 2 =0.88; p<0.001). Even when the blood sample was taken more than two weeks after an egg was laid, there was a strong correlation between Hg concentrations in female blood and eggs (r 2 =0.67; p<0.0002). When we plotted the dietary concentrations of Hg we fed to the egg-laying females against the concentrations of Hg in their eggs, the r 2 value was 0.96 (p<0.0001). When the concentrations of Hg in the down feathers of newly hatched ducklings were plotted against Hg in the whole ducklings, the r 2 value was 0.99 ( p<0.0003). Although measuring Hg in eggs may be the most direct way of predicting possible embryotoxicity, our findings demonstrate that measuring Hg in the diet of breeding birds, in the blood of egg-laying females, or in down feathers of hatchlings all can be used to estimate what concentration of Hg may have been in the egg.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2009

Organochlorine and PBDE concentrations in relation to cytochrome P450 activity in livers of Forster’s Terns ( Sterna forsteri ) and Caspian Terns ( Hydroprogne caspia ), in San Francisco Bay, California

We measured halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs) [polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT)] and P450 [e.g., ethoxyresorufin- O -dealkylase (EROD)] stress in livers from Caspian tern ( Hydroprogne caspia ) adults and Forster’s tern ( Sterna forsteri ) adults and chicks in San Francisco Bay (SFB). Penta BDEs and tetra PBDEs composed 46–66% of ∑PBDE in terns. PCB homologues di, tri, penta, hexa, and hepta composed 93–95% of ∑PCBs and p ′ p -DDE composed 82–98% of all ∑DDTs. We found similar concentrations of ∑PBDEs [mean micrograms per gram wet weight (ww) ± standard error = 0.4 ± 0.1], ∑PCBs (5.9 ± 1.6), and ∑DDTs (0.6 ± 0.1) among species, sexes, and regions. However, concentrations were higher in Forster’s tern adults than chicks (∑PBDEs = 0.4 ± 0.1 and 0.1 ± 0.1; ∑PCBs = 7.08 ± 2.4 and 2.4 ± 1.4; ∑DDTs = 0.5 ± 0.1 and 0.1 ± 0.1; respectively), and there was a nonsignificant trend of elevated ∑PBDEs and ∑PCBs for adult Forster’s terns in the Central South Bay and Lower South Bay portions of SFB. Combined Forster’s tern and Caspian tern ∑DDTs bioaccumulated similarly to selenium, but not mercury, and there was a nonsignificant but positive trend for ∑PBDEs and ∑PCBs bioaccumulation with mercury. P450 protein activity was higher in adult Forster’s terns than Caspian terns, higher in Central South Bay than in Lower South Bay, and higher in adult Forster’s terns than in chicks.

California↗

USGS2009

A simplified method for correcting contaminant concentrations in eggs for moisture loss.

We developed a simplified and highly accurate method for correcting contaminant concentrations in eggs for the moisture that is lost from an egg during incubation. To make the correction, one injects water into the air cell of the egg until overflowing. The amount of water injected corrects almost perfectly for the amount of water lost during incubation or when an egg is left in the nest and dehydrates and deteriorates over time. To validate the new method we weighed freshly laid chicken (Gallus gallus) eggs and then incubated sets of fertile and dead eggs for either 12 or 19 d. We then injected water into the air cells of these eggs and verified that the weights after water injection were almost identical to the weights of the eggs when they were fresh. The advantages of the new method are its speed, accuracy, and simplicity: It does not require the calculation of a correction factor that has to be applied to each contaminant residue.

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry↗

USGS2009

Mercury and drought along the Lower Carson River, Nevada: III. effects on blood and organ biochemistry and histopathology of snowy egrets and black-crowned night-herons on Lahontan Reservoir, 2002-2006

A 10-year study (1997-2006) was conducted to evaluate reproduction and health of aquatic birds in the Carson River Basin of northwestern Nevada (on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Natural Priorities List) due to high mercury (Hg) concentrations from past mining activities. This part of the study evaluated physiological associations with blood Hg in young snowy egrets (Egretta thula) and black-crowned night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), and organ biochemistry and histopathological effects in snowy egrets on Lahontan Reservoir (LR) from the period 2002-2006. LR snowy egret geometric mean total Hg concentrations (μg/g ww) ranged from 1.5 to 4.8 for blood, 2.4 to 3.1 liver, 1.8 to 2.5 kidneys, 1.7 to 2.4 brain, and 20.5 to 36.4 feathers over these years. For night-herons, mean Hg for blood ranged from 1.6 to 7.4. Significant positive correlations were found between total Hg in blood and five plasma enzyme activities of snowy egrets suggesting hepatic stress. Histopathological findings revealed vacuolar changes in hepatocytes in LR snowy egrets as well as correlation of increased liver inflammation with increasing blood and tissue Hg. Hepatic oxidative effects were manifested by decreased hepatic total thiol concentration and glutathione reductase activity and elevated hepatic thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS), a measure of lipid peroxidation. However, other hepatic changes indicated compensatory mechanisms in response to oxidative stress, including decreased oxidized glutathione (GSSG) concentration and decreased ratio of GSSG to reduced glutathione. In young black-crowned night-herons, fewer correlations were apparent. In both species, positive correlations between blood total Hg and plasma uric acid and inorganic phosphorus were suggestive of renal stress, which was supported by histopathological findings. Both oxidative effects and adaptive responses to oxidative stress were apparent in kidneys and brain. Vacuolar change and inflammation in peripheral nerves were found to correlate with blood and tissue Hg. Hg-associated effects related to the immune system included alterations in specific white blood cells and lymphoid depletion in the bursa that were correlated with blood and tissue Hg. When the number of plasma variables that differed between young snowy egrets from the LR site and the reference site were compared between wet and drought years, over twice as many variables were affected during drought years. This resulted in many more variables correlating with blood total Hg during dry than during wet years, suggesting the combination of drought and Hg was more stressful than Hg alone. Drought may have exacerbated Hg-related effects as reported previously for overall productivity. This relationship was not evident in black-crowned night-herons, although data were more limited.

Nevada↗