Thesis Abstracts 2003
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Analysis of Environmental Contaminants in Black Terns (Chlidonias niger)
By: Margaret Morris (MSc)
Supervisors: Dr. R.D. Weir and Dr. J.S. Poland
Abstract
This research determined the optimal techniques for the detection of inorganic contaminants in biological samples from Black Terns nesting in the Kingston, Ontario, region. Non-destructive blood and feather sampling are important techniques that allow long-term environmental studies to be carried out by means of repeated sampling and monitoring of potential contaminant effects. Egg, blood, and feather samples as well as samples of Black Tern prey were obtained. The small sample sizes necessitated the development of laboratory techniques for the detection and quantification of trace amounts of contaminants. Comparison of several laboratory methods showed that the best results for inorganic analyses were obtained by dry ashing and hotplate digestion of matrices, when used in conjunction with inductively-coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy and inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry instrumentation. Neutron activation analysis was found to be not entirely applicable to analysis of these types of environmental samples as some important elements could not be determined. Variance of sample size demonstrated fairly consistent results by both ICP-AES and ICP-MS, with smaller sample sizes resulting in overestimation of the true concentration, with ICP-AES demonstrating this more consistently and with a greater magnitude than ICP-MS. Black Tern eggshells were found to be thinner than previously reported for this species, while feather samples showed some evidence of contamination of copper, nickel, and zinc. These findings are interesting when coupled with the possibility of declining populations of Black Terns. Analysis of Black Tern egg samples was problematic due to unforeseen difficulties with the sample matrix resulting in significantly increased detection limits. Prey samples of insect and fish showed copper and zinc to be present at elevated levels in fish. Analysis of mercury content in Black Tern eggs and in fish and insects may indicate higher levels of this contaminant inland than on Lake Ontario. A great deal of work was conducted in developing analyses for chlorinated organic contaminants but time constraints did not permit its completion.
