Population Dynamics and Metal Levels in Waterbirds

• Covers numbers and dynamics, colony sites and locations, and prey contaminant levels, and compares them to other comparable coastal estuaries
  
• Uses colonial waterbirds as the focal point for an ecosystems approach to metals that goes from prey fish through invertebrates to humans
  
• Provides information based on long-term integrative studies the authors have done on metal levels and bird species and compares the findings with data from the Harbor Estuaries Program and the Wadden Sea
  
• Includes a four-page full-color insert
  

Based on longitudinal studies—some into their fifth decade—of colonial waterbirds, this book provides a clear picture of the corrosive effects of heavy metals in the aquatic environment today. Colonial-nesting birds can serve as excellent bioindicators and sentinels for both human and ecological health. This book takes a food-web, ecosystem approach to contaminants, using populations dynamics, habitat selection, and inputs to the bay to examine metal levels. It includes the human dimension, discusses what metals in birds tell us about human exposure, and describes stakeholder involvement in these issues.