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Seabirds as monitor organisms of contaminants along the German North Sea coast
Helgoländer Meeresuntersuchungen volume 43, pages 395–403 (1989)
Abstract
In the 1980s, significant regional, interspecific and annual differences in contamination with toxic chemicals were found in eggs of breeding birds along the German North Sea coast. In some regions residue levels approached a range endangering breeding success, especially in terns. In 1987, a three-year monitoring-program for common ternSterna hirundo and oystercatcherHaematopus ostralegus was started, in order to recognize such contamination trends. Eggs from 9–14 areas along the coast are now being analysed for chlororganic residues and mercury. First results on geographical and year-to-year variation are presented here, and the advantages of seabird eggs as spatial and temporal monitors of marine pollution are discussed. The suggestion is made to include a shore-breeding bird species in the European monitoring programs.
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Becker, P.H. Seabirds as monitor organisms of contaminants along the German North Sea coast. Helgolander Meeresunters 43, 395–403 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365899
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02365899