We have located links that may give you full text access.
Journal Article
Review
Mercury concentrations vary within and among individual bird feathers: A critical evaluation and guidelines for feather use in mercury monitoring programs.
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 2019 March 30
Feathers are widely used to represent mercury contamination in birds. Yet, few recommendations exist that provide guidance for using bird feathers in mercury monitoring programs. We conducted a literature review and 5 experiments to show that mercury concentrations vary substantially within (vane >100% higher than calamus) and among (>1000%) individual feathers from the same bird. We developed a research tool and guidelines for using bird feathers for mercury studies based on three components: 1) variability of feather mercury concentrations within an individual bird (coefficient of variation [CV]), 2) desired accuracy of the measured mercury concentration, and 3) feather and bird mass. Our results suggest a general rule that if the goal is to limit analytical and processing costs by using whole feathers in only one sample boat, then to achieve an accuracy within 10% of a bird's overall average feather mercury concentration a bird with a CV≤10% must be <190 g (size of large shorebird). To achieve an accuracy within 20%, a bird with a CV≤10% must be <920 g (large duck). When >1 sample boat is needed to fit the required number of feathers to achieve the desired accuracy, results suggest homogenizing feathers and analyzing an aliquot of ≥20 mg for mercury. This study suggests increasing the number of feathers typically used per bird to assess mercury concentrations. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Full text links
Related Resources
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app
All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.
By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.
Your Privacy Choices
You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now
Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university
For the best experience, use the Read mobile app