1983/08/01 by Ian C. T. Nisbet · 3 citations
Environmental Science · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · #Isotope Analysis in Ecology #Marine Toxins and Detection Methods #Plant and animal studies
paper · doi:10.2307/1367071
More than 70 Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and lesser numbers of other terns and gulls were killed on 11-12 June 1978, by Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP; toxin of the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax excavata) at a breeding colony in Massachusetts. PSP toxin was detected at lethal levels in sand-launce (Ammodytes americanus), the terns' principal food. Almost all terns that died were females in pre-laying condition; other birds vomited and survived. Breeding performance of survivors was unaffected. Mortality was greatest in three-year-old birds; 10-25% of three-year-old females were killed. Although PSP toxin was present in local shellfish for about three weeks, tern mortality was limited to a few hours on two days. Much higher levels of toxin were detected in shellfish at other parts of the Massachusetts coast in 1978 and other years, but terns and other susceptible seabirds were unaffected.