Journal
JOURNAL OF TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH-PART A-CURRENT ISSUES
Volume 77, Issue 8, Pages 415-425Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS INC
DOI: 10.1080/15287394.2013.869105
Keywords
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Funding
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Suncor Energy Inc.
- Syncrude Canada Ltd.
- Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.
- Albian Sands Energy (Shell Canada)
- Imperial Oil
- Total EP Canada Ltd.
- Canadian Water Network
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Tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) inhabiting reclaimed wetlands on the oil sands in northern Alberta are potentially exposed to elevated levels of oil sands constituents such as polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) through diet. While increased detoxification enzyme activity as measured using 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase in nestlings is a generally accepted indicator of exposure to oil sands constituents, there is no apparent method to detect dietary exposure specific to oil sands processed material (OSPM). In this study, stable C and N isotopes were analyzed from muscle and feathers of nestling tree swallows (15 d old) to distinguish dietary exposure of birds near reference and OSPM wetlands. High delta N-15 and low delta C-13 values in the nestling tissues differentiated those from the OSPM wetlands and reference sites. Lower delta N-15 values of nestlings compared to the delta N-15 values of larval chironomids from an earlier study suggested that the majority of the diet of the nestlings was derived from non-OSPM sources, despite residence near and on the OSPM wetlands. Our finding of limited utilization of OSPM resources by tree swallows indicates either low abundance or diversity of dietary items emerging from OSPM wetlands, or sensory avoidance of prey from those wetlands. Minimal consumption of OSPM-derived dietary sources may be attributed to published findings of limited adverse effects on tree swallow reproduction, or growth and development for these same nestlings. This study demonstrated that stable isotope analysis, particularly for N isotopes, may serve as a useful tool to trace dietary exposure to OSPM constituents as part of avian ecotoxicology assessments of reclaimed wetlands on the oil sands.
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