Trace element and stable isotope analysis of fourteen species of marine invertebrates from the Bay of Fundy, Canada.

The Bay of Fundy, Canada, is a macrotidal bay with a highly productive intertidal zone, hosting a large abundance and diversity of marine invertebrates. We analysed trace element concentrations and stable isotopic values of δ(15)N and δ(13)C in 14 species of benthic marine invertebrates from the Bay of Fundy's intertidal zone to investigate bioaccumulation or biodilution of trace elements in the lower level of this marine food web. Barnacles (Balanus balanus) consistently had significantly greater concentrations of trace elements compared to the other species studied, but otherwise we found low concentrations of non-essential trace elements. In the range of trophic levels that we studied, we found limited evidence of bioaccumulation or biodilution of trace elements across species, likely due to the species examined occupying similar trophic levels in different food chains.

Plastic and metal ingestion in three species of coastal waterfowl wintering in Atlantic Canada.

Relatively little attention has been paid to the occurrence of anthropogenic debris found in coastal species, especially waterfowl. We examined the incidence of ingested plastic and metal in three waterfowl species wintering in Atlantic Canada: American black ducks (Anas rubripes) and mallards (A. platyrhynchos), two species that use marine and freshwater coastal habitats for foraging in the winter, and common eider (Somateria mollissima), a coastal marine species that feeds on intertidal and subtidal benthic organisms. Plastic was found in the stomachs of 46.1% (6/13) of mallards and 6.9% (6/87) of black ducks, the first report of ingested anthropogenic debris in these species, while 2.1% (1/48) of eider stomachs contained plastic. Metal was found in the stomachs of 30.8% (4/13) of mallards, 2.3% (2/87) of black ducks, and in 2.1% (1/48) of eiders. Our results indicate that species using coastal marine and freshwater environments are exposed to and ingest anthropogenic debris.