Food-chain transfer and effects of selenium in waterfowl

The combined continental population of Lesser (Aythya affinis) and Greater Scaup (Aythya marila)(hereafter scaup) declined by 50% between the mid-1980s and late 1990s (Austin et al. 2000). One hypothesis for the decline is that birds are acquiring unhealthy contaminant burdens on the lower Great Lakes (LGL). This project has 3 inter-related parts to: 1/ determine levels of contaminants (particularly selenium) acquired by scaup (and other diving ducks) staging and wintering on the LGL, 2/ evaluate the contribution of Se contamination from food as well as surrounding water and sediments, and 3/ determine contaminant levels in Greater Scaup breeding on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta (YKD), Alaska.