Local to continental influences on nutrient and contaminant sources to river birds

Stable isotope and contaminant analyses revealed differences in nutrient sources and contaminant pathways in two species of dipper, Cinclus mexicanus and Cinclus cinclus in western Canada and western Britain. We collected dipper prey and eggs from relatively pristine British Columbian rivers contrasting in the presence of salmon-derived nutrients, and rural Welsh rivers with varying food-web complexity associated with stream acidity. Enriched delta(13)C and to a lesser extent delta(15)N in American dipper eggs and prey confirmed that streams with migrating Pacific salmon were enriched with marine-derived nutrients, but overall contaminant concentrations did not differ strongly in dipper eggs between rivers with and without salmon. However dipper contaminant profiles, particularly PBDEs, mercury and SigmaDDTs, were related to delta(13)C, reflecting the marine influence and greater fish consumption at salmon sites. Irrespective of catchment influences and despite feeding at a higher trophic level, American dipper eggs (n = 17) contained lower levels of organohalogens than Eurasian dippers (n = 37), but with similar PCB (153 and 138) and PBDE (47 and 99) congeners dominanating. Eurasian dipper eggs from circumneutral streams contained more dieldrin, SigmaDDT and Sigmahexachlorocyclohexanes while Sigmachlordanes, mirex, SigmaPBDEs and SigmaPCBs predominated at acid sites. Our data reveal how dippers indicate contaminant levels and sources under contrasting conditions at scales ranging from local to intercontinental, but local environmental conditions apparently alter feeding ecology and exposure pathways even in these closely related species.