Bugbait of Seney
Common Loon (Gavia immer) Feathers Examination August 2012 SNWR
As a loon ingests mercury (Hg) through fish consumption, its body attempts to rid itself of the toxic metal in a variety of ways, including by shunting Hg into growing feathers. A loon chick hatches covered in dark down, but soon begins growing flight and contour feathers that - after ten weeks - will leave it resembling a gray-and-white version of its parents. Throughout this period of summer growth, during which the loon juvenile is consuming abundant fish, mercury is continually directed into its feathers. This Hg input ceases when the feather is fully developed, and the result is a ten-week summary of the loon's exposure to the contaminant since the time of its hatch. As this is a longer time frame than that provided by blood, it is an even better synthesis of overall Hg "bioavailability" within a specific waterbody. In this photo, we are identifying the specific feather that we utilize - again, through atomic absorption spectroscopy - as the standard for Hg testing of juvenile loons: the second secondary flight feather. - Damon McCormick, Common Coast Research & Conservation
Common Loon (Gavia immer) Feathers Examination August 2012 SNWR
As a loon ingests mercury (Hg) through fish consumption, its body attempts to rid itself of the toxic metal in a variety of ways, including by shunting Hg into growing feathers. A loon chick hatches covered in dark down, but soon begins growing flight and contour feathers that - after ten weeks - will leave it resembling a gray-and-white version of its parents. Throughout this period of summer growth, during which the loon juvenile is consuming abundant fish, mercury is continually directed into its feathers. This Hg input ceases when the feather is fully developed, and the result is a ten-week summary of the loon's exposure to the contaminant since the time of its hatch. As this is a longer time frame than that provided by blood, it is an even better synthesis of overall Hg "bioavailability" within a specific waterbody. In this photo, we are identifying the specific feather that we utilize - again, through atomic absorption spectroscopy - as the standard for Hg testing of juvenile loons: the second secondary flight feather. - Damon McCormick, Common Coast Research & Conservation