ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to quantify geographical variations in heavy metal levels in marine environments and assess the impact of anthropogenic inputs of metals, analysis of levels in biological indicator organisms offers several advantages over sea water or sediment analysis. Metabolic regulation decreases the potential for detecting variations in environmental levels of essential metals using seabirds as sampling agents. Copper and zinc concentrations vary little between seabird populations, as may be expected from their metabolic regulation. Apparent tendencies for particular taxonomic or ecological groups to accumulate high levels of particular metals may recommend suitable indicator species. Variations in heavy metal concentrations between seabird species potentially reflect many factors, including feeding and migratory habits, body size, lifespan, molt strategy, and taxonomic influences on physiology. Insufficient attention is often paid to possible physiological or seasonal influences on the metal content of seabird tissues. Correlations between concentrations of different metals in seabird tissues are of interest for several reasons.
