Abstract:
Thirteen Common Loons were captured in 2015 from 19 February through 23 March in coastal Louisiana. In addition to placing band tags on each bird, tissue samples were obtained for PAH and health parameters, as well as various morphometric characteristics. From 24 February through 25 March, the same area was visited for distance observations of behavior, such as foraging, preening, locomotion, resting, surface feeding, and diving. Some of the data in this dataset was used in Paruk, J. D., Adams, E. M., Uher-Koch, H., Kovach, K. A., Long IV, D., Perkins, C., et al. (2016). Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in blood related to lower body mass in common loons. Science of The Total Environment, 565, 360–368.
Purpose:
The loons were captured in an area that was moderately to heavily oiled from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the researchers were investigating whether birds from this area were still being exposed to oil residues (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs), and if so, in what concentrations. In addition, researchers were investigating whether PAHs were having any effect on loon health.
Data Parameters and Units:
File: R4.x264.220-0001_LA Common Loon Health Assessment data_sub 2.xlsx Worksheet: Health Data Parameter Descriptions: Band #: user defined number on tagging band Location: Location where bird was captured Territory: Territory where bird was captured State: State where bird was captured Lat: Latitude of bird capture location (deg, min, sec) Long: Longitude of bird capture location (deg, min, sec) Colors, LT/LB: Colors of the leg bands placed on the left leg, LT=left top/LB=left bottom Colors, RT/RB: Colors of the leg bands placed on the right leg, RT=right top/RB=right bottom Capture Date: Month/Day/Year the bird was captured Recapture (Yes/No): Indicates recapture of the bird Replaced Band (Yes/No): Indicates if the band was replaced on the captured bird, due to fading Capture Time: Time the bird was captured Release Time: Time the bird was released Sex: M=Male, F=Female, U=Unknown Age: A=Adult, I=Immature Mass (g): Weight of the bird Bill morphometrics (mm): C=culmen (the length of the upper bill from its base to the nares); L=length (from base to tip); W=width (distance across the bill measured by the nares); D=depth (bill thickness); O=overlap (difference in mm between the upper and lower bill) Left Tarsus/Foot (or leg) morphometrics (mm): W=width or thickness of the lower left leg just above the “ankle” joint; L=length of left foot; # 4 Digit=length of left foot including digit 4 Right Tarsus/Foot (or leg) morphometrics (mm): W=width or thickness of the lower right leg just above the “ankle” joint; L=length of right foot; #4 Digit=length of right foot including digit 4 TBL (mm): Total Body Length (from tip of bill to tip of tail) Molt-Winter Plumage of Face, Throat, Dorsal, Wing Molt Card (Yes/No): presence/absence of molting feathers at each body location 34 blood health parameters: Gluc (mg/dL), BUN (mg/dL), CREA (mg/dL), BUN/CREA ratio, Na (mEq/L), K (mEq/L), CO2 (mmol/L), Amylase (U/L), Lipase (U/L), Ca (mg/dL), Phos (mg/dL), Chol (mg/dL), Triglyceride (mg/dL), UA (mg/dL), TP (g/dL), AST (U/L), ALT (U/L), LDH (U/L), CPK (U/L), GGT (U/L), Estimated WBC (x 10^3), Heterophils (%), Lymphocytes (%), Monocytes (%), Eosinophils (%), Basophils (%), RBC Morph (Mild polychromasia, Normal, or N/A), Blood Parasites (Negative or N/A), Thrombocyte Morph. (Normal or N/A), WBC Morph. (Normal or N/A), RBC (x 10^6), Total Protein (g/dl), PCV (%), Hemoglobin (g/dl) Worksheet: PAH Data Parameter Descriptions: Band #: user defined number on tagging band Total PAH (ng/g) 16 Aromatic analytes (ng/g) File: R4.x264.220-0001_Behavioral data 2015_sub 2.xlsx Worksheet: Behavioral Data Parameter Descriptions: Date: Month/Day/Year the observation was made Year: Year the observation was made ID: observational descriptions for each bird (U=unknown individual, could not observe color bands. A number behind the letter ‘U’ implies a different bird; M=male bird; OB=observed bands. A letter behind “OB” represents colors observed (G=green; O= orange, etc.) Age Class (based on plumage): A=adult loon; J=juvenile bird (<20 months old) Location: where the observation was made Lat: Latitude of observation location (deg, min, sec) Long: Longitude of observation location (deg, min, sec) Start Time: when the observation began End Time: when the observation ended Observation Time: elapsed time of the observation, in seconds Time Out of Sight: time the bird was judged to be out of sight, in seconds Observation Time - Out of Sight: Observation Time minus Time Out of Sight, in seconds Time F: Time bird spent Foraging (actively diving and looking for prey), in seconds Time P: Time bird spent Preening (actively working the bill into their feathers), in seconds Time L: Locomotion (actively swimming on the surface in a direct line), in seconds Time R: Time bird spent Resting (simply resting on the surface of the water), in seconds Time S: Time bird spent Surface Feeding, in seconds Average Dive Time: time bird spent diving, in seconds Proportion F: proportion of the observation time spent foraging Proportion P: proportion of the observation time spent preening Proportion L: proportion of the observation time spent in locomotion Proportion R: proportion of the observation time spent resting Proportion S: proportion of the observation time spent surface feeding
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