Perez CR, Moye JK, Cacela D, Dean KM, Pritsos CA. Body mass change in flying
homing pigeons externally exposed to Deepwater Horizon crude oil.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 2017;
146:104-110. [PMID:
28526170 DOI:
10.1016/j.ecoenv.2017.05.012]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2016] [Revised: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 05/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill contaminated thousands of miles of habitat valuable to hundreds of species of migratory and resident birds of the Gulf of Mexico. Many birds died as a direct result of the oil spill; however, the indirect effects of oil exposure on the flight ability and body condition of birds are difficult to assess in situ. This study utilizes the homing pigeon as a surrogate species for migratory birds to investigate the effect of multiple external oil exposures on the flight performance and body mass change of birds over a series of repeated flights from 136.8km flight distance. Oiled pigeons took significantly longer to return home, lost more weight during flight, and were unable to recover their weight, resulting in reduction of body weight overtime. Based on our data, migratory birds that were oiled, even partially, by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill likely took longer to complete migration and were likely in poor body condition, increasing their risk of mortality and reproductive failure.
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