Female-biased offspring sex ratios in birds at a mercury-contaminated river

Abstract

Mercury is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant that can negatively impact physiology and behavior of vertebrates, causing sub-lethal changes in condition and reducing fitness. Here we examine its effect on offspring sex ratio. Previous studies demonstrate the ability of environmental contaminants to skew sex ratios in wild populations toward the production of females, and research in humans has demonstrated a decrease in male births following mercury exposure. We therefore hypothesized that female birds inhabiting the floodplain of a mercury-contaminated river would produce broods more biased towards the production of females relative to birds from uncontaminated areas. We examined complete broods of three species: the aquatic-feeding belted kingfisher Megaceryle alcyon, the terrestrial-feeding eastern bluebird Sialia sialis, and the tree swallow Tachycineta bicolor, which feeds from both aquatic and terrestrial sources. Nestling sex ratios were shifted toward the production of females in all three species on mercury-contaminated sites when compared to uncontaminated reference sites. These results may be explained by endocrine disruption or the Trivers-Willard theory of sex allocation. Our study is the first to examine the impact of mercury on offspring sex ratios in birds, and therefore contributes to our understanding of the potential for this persistent biomagnifying contaminant to alter fitness and effective population size in wildlife. © 2012 The Authors.