REPOSITORIO

Effects of Acute Exposure to Heavy Fuel Oil from the Prestige Spill on a Seabird

Enlace mardeaves Larus michahellis,PUBLICACIÓN CIENTÍFICA,REPOSITORIO ,,

Alonso-Alvarez, C., Pérez, C. & Velando, A. Effects of acute exposure to heavy fuel oil from the Prestige spill on a seabird. Aquatic Toxicology 84, 103–110 (2007). doi:10.1016/j.aquatox.2007.06.004.

Large quantities of petroleum products are released into the marine environment as result of tanker wrecks. Such catastrophic events have a dramatic impact on marine ecosystems, affecting a broad range of species. Seabirds are placed at the uppermost trophic level of the marine food chain. Therefore, important toxic effects are expected in these organisms. The recent Prestige oil spill gave the opportunity to test this. A previous study reported that yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) breeding in the oiled area (17 months after the spill) showed differences both in plasma biochemistry and in the total circulating levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (TPAHs) in blood regard to gulls sampled in clean areas. In the present study, wild yellow-legged gulls were fed with heavy fuel oil from the Prestige oil spill (P-gulls) and compared with control gulls (C-gulls) fed only with the vehicle (vegetable oil). Consistent with the cited previous findings, gulls fed with fuel oil showed reduced glucose and inorganic phosphorus levels in plasma, as well as a trend to significantly reduced creatinine values. In addition, glucose concentration was negatively related to TPAH levels. Males but not females fed with fuel oil showed higher plasma activity of asparatate aminotransferase (AST) than controls. With regard to plasma activity of gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), the results were opposite to the previous study. The GGT activity increased in C-females, apparently to meet with increased liver metabolism due to egg laying demands, but not in P-females. Differences to the previous study possibly reflect different adaptive responses of these enzymes to an acute short-term exposure to heavy fuel oil. Since the yellow-legged gull belongs to a complex of species widely distributed throughout the Northern hemisphere, the results as a whole might provide a tool for future evaluations of short- and long-term effects of oil spills on seabirds. Decreased glucose and inorganic phosphorus levels in plasma are expected in both short- and long-lasting exposures to fuel oil, whereas responses of AST and GGT enzymes would depend on both the sex of individuals and the temporal pattern of exposure.

Sublethal Toxicity of the Prestige Oil Spill on Yellow-Legged Gulls

Enlace mardeaves Larus michahellis,PUBLICACIÓN CIENTÍFICA,REPOSITORIO ,,,

Alonso-Alvarez, C., Munilla, I., López-Alonso, M. & Velando, A. Sublethal toxicity of the Prestige oil spill on yellow-legged gulls. Environment International 33, 773–781 (2007).

The Prestige oil spill in November 2002 is considered the biggest large-scale catastrophe of its type in Europe, thousands of seabirds dying in the subsequent months. Here, the total concentration of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (TPAH) was measured in the blood cell fraction of adult and chick yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) from unoiled and oiled coastal areas in North Western Spain. In addition, hematocrit, plasma metabolites, electrolytes and enzymes, as well as body mass were determined in the same individuals. Our results strongly suggest the presence of health damages of sublethal nature in adult gulls breeding in oiled colonies 17 months after the Prestige oil spill. This is supported by the following evidences: (1) gulls sampled in unoiled and oiled colonies differed in blood TPAH levels, (2) gulls sampled in unoiled and oiled colonies differed in several blood parameters indicative of physiological disorders, and (3) TPAH in blood was significantly related to several of these parameters. Differences in the level of asparatate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), total protein, glucose and inorganic phosphorus suggest damages on some vital organs (i.e. liver and kidney) in adult birds from oiled areas. Meanwhile, chicks presented weaker effects than adults, showing only between-area differences in hematocrit. Since TPAH levels in blood did not differ between both age groups, the stronger effects on adults should be due to their longer exposure to these pollutants and/or to severe exposure in the months following the spill. The presence of PAHs in chicks indicates that these pollutants were incorporated into the food chain because nestlings would have been only exposed to contaminated organisms in the diet (e.g. fishes and crustaceans). Our findings support the view that PAHs may deeply alter the physiology of seabirds, and emphasize the necessity of quantifying the circulating levels of these compounds in order to evaluate the sublethal effects associated to large oil spills.

Composición de la microfauna y características bioquímicas de los suelos en el interior y exterior de nidos de Cormorán Moñudo (Phalacrocorax Aristotelis, L.) en las islas Cíes, España

Enlace mardeaves Phalacrocorax aristotelis,PUBLICACIÓN CIENTÍFICA,REPOSITORIO ,

Aira, M., Monroy, F. & Domínguez, J. Composición de la microfauna y características bioquímicas de los suelos en el interior y exterior de nidos de cormorán monudo (Phalacrocorax aristotelis, L.) en las Islas Cíes, España. Boletín de la Real Sociedad Española de Historia Natural Sección Biológica 101, 71–75 (2006).

 

Climate Influences Fledgling Sex Ratio and Sex-Specific Dispersal in a Seabird

Enlace mardeaves Phalacrocorax aristotelis,PUBLICACIÓN CIENTÍFICA,REPOSITORIO ,,,,,,
Barros, Á., Álvarez, D. & Velando, A. Climate Influences Fledgling Sex Ratio and Sex-Specific Dispersal in a Seabird. PLoS ONE 8, e71358 (2013).8): e71358. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071358
Climate influences the dynamics of natural populations by direct effects over habitat quality but also modulating the phenotypic responses of organisms’ life-history traits. These responses may be different in males and females, particularly in dimorphic species, due to sex-specific requirements or constraints. Here, in a coastal seabird, the European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis), we studied the influence of climate (North Atlantic Oscillation, NAO; Sea Surface Temperature, SST) on two sex-related population parameters: fledgling sex ratio and sex-specific dispersal. We found that fledgling sex ratio was female skewed in NAO-positive years and male skewed in NAO-negative years. Accordingly, females dispersed a longer distance in NAO-positive years when females were overproduced, and on the contrary, males dispersed more in NAO-negative years. Overall, our findings provide rare evidence on vertebrates with genetic sex determination that climate conditions may govern population dynamics by affecting sex-specific density and dispersal.

Mass mortality of seabirds in the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill

Enlace mardeaves Alca torda,Fratercula arctica,PUBLICACIÓN CIENTÍFICA,REPOSITORIO,Uria aalge ,,,,,,

Munilla, Ignacio, José Manuel Arcos, Daniel Oro, David Álvarez, Patricia M. Leyenda & Alberto Velando. “Mass mortality of seabirds in the aftermath of the Prestige oil spill.” Ecosphere 2, no. 7 (2011): 1-14.

In the winter of 2002–03 the Prestige tanker spilled 60,000 tons of oil over the northern half of the Iberian Coastal Large Marine Ecosystem (northern Portugal to France). Most (c. 85%) of the 22,981 oiled seabirds reported were alcids (i.e., auks): Common Murres (Uria aalge), Razorbills (Alca torda) and Atlantic Puffins (Fratercula arctica). Here we estimated the mortality of alcids in Galicia (northwestern Spain), the area that received most of the Prestige oil and where half of the oiled seabirds were collected. We performed three experiments that included: (1) a test of several drift block models in open sea, to select the one that best fitted the drift of alcid carcasses; (2) the release of 450 drift blocks at 9 offshore points to assess the recovery rate of oiled alcids and its spatial variation; (3) the assessment of beach survey effort and the detectability of drift blocks. Mean mortality estimates and their bootstrapped confidence intervals were obtained through an estimation model that established: (1) a temporal limit of 23 days to block drifting; (2) spatial differences in the recovery rates of blocks depending on how far away from the coast they were released; (3) a correction factor accounting for detectability, and (4) the distribution pattern of the three alcid species involved according to three distance classes, based on ship surveys. The Prestige oil spill, in terms of acute seabird mortality, was one of the worst oil spills ever reported worldwide. Compared to other major oil spills the estimated mortality for the Prestige oil spill was higher than expected from the number of carcasses retrieved. We recommend that drift block assessments of seabird mortality should be included in contingency response plans to oil pollution emergencies; therefore, a supply of drift-blocks designed to mimic the drifting behavior of the marine bird species of interests should be at hand.

Estudio de la población de aves invernantes y nidificantes en el Parque Nacional marítimo terrestre Islas Atlánticas de Galicia. Enero 2004 – Enero 2005.

Enlace mardeaves INFORME,REPOSITORIO ,,

Arcea Xestión de Recursos Naturais, S.L. Estudio de la población de aves invernantes y nidificantes en el Parque Nacional marítimo terrestre Islas Atlánticas de Galicia. Enero 2004 – Enero 2005. Parque Nacional Marítimo-Terrestre das Illas Atlánticas de Galicia. Informe non publicado. Marzo 2005.