Suzy Young † T . Hill Henry ‡ Elizabeth Burton ¶

1. Bioaccumulation, Maternal Transfer, and Effects of the TVA Kingston Ash Spill on Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) Suzy Young† T. Hill Henry‡ Elizabeth Burton¶ Jesse Morris¶†ARCADIS U.S., Inc.; ‡Tennessee Valley Authority; ¶Restoration Services, Inc.

2. Kingston, TN Ash Spill Image taken June 2007 Image taken August 14, 2009

3. Why Study the Tree Swallow? • Tree swallows are widely distributed throughout the United States and are a breeding migratory species in eastern Tennessee. • Tree swallows readily use nest boxes, a controllable and accessible environment, so they can be attracted to study areas. • Tree swallows feed near their nest box on emergent aquatic insects. http://www.umesc.usgs.gov/reports_publications/fact_sheets/swallows.html

4. Conceptual Exposure Model Aerial Insectivores Adult Invertebrates Emergence Larval Benthic Invertebrates

5. Study Objectives • Determine whether trace elements are bioavailable to tree swallows. • Determine whether tree swallows are maternally transferring trace elements to young. • Determine whether bioaccumulation and maternal transfer result in adverse effects to tree swallow populations.

6. Study Sites Tree Swallows Total Boxes = 530 Eggs Collected: n = 63 (2009) n = 155 (2010) Nestlings Collected: n = 47 (2009) n = 65 (2010) Reference Site 1: Loudoun Dam Reference Site 2: Tellico Dam Kingston Fossil Plant Historically Impacted Site: Melton Hill Dam

7. Tree Swallow Eggs • 2009 Results • Selenium • Strontium • 2010 Results • Iron • Manganese • Potassium • Selenium • Sodium • Zinc Detected Metals (>5%) Barium Calcium Chromium Cobalt Copper Iron Magnesium Manganese Mercury Molybdenum Nickel Potassium Selenium Sodium Strontium Zinc

8. Selenium Toxicity in Birds Gadwall embryo Deformed American coot embryo (A) from a nest in the vicinity of a southeast Idaho phosphate mine tailings reservoir. The deformity exhibited here—curly toe—is similar to that induced by Se in chickens (B, deformed; C, normal). 80ppm Northern Pintail embryo A – gadwall (deformed lower bill, spoonbill narrowing of upper bill, missing eyes) B – northern pintail (deformed lower bill, spoonbill narrowing of upper bill, missing eyes) wwwrcamnl.wr.usgs.gov/Selenium/Mining.htm http://wwwrcamnl.wr.usgs.gov/Selenium/irrigation.htm Irrigation-Induced Contamination of Water, Sediment, and Biota in the Western United States – Synthesis of Data from the National Irrigation Water Quality Program. U.S. Geological Survey. http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1655/pp1655_v1.1.pdf From: Skorupa & Ohlendorf, 1991. Contaminants in drainage water and avian risk thresholds. Pp 345-386 In: The economics and management of water and drainage in agriculture (Dinar & Ziberman, eds). Sibling stilt embryos collected from a single nest on the same day from a Tulare Basin evaporation pond in the Southern San Joaquin Valley in 2001. The overtly teratogenic embryo on the left, exhibiting stunted growth, no eyes, deformed bones (in right foot) contained 72 parts per million selenium(dry weight, whole egg), while the overtly normal sibling, on the right, contained 16 parts per million selenium.

9. 2010 Tree Swallow Eggs Tukey-KramerEmory vs. Ref (p=0.046) MHD vs. Ref (p=0.042) 2009 2010 p=0.046 p<0.0001 Tukey-KramerEmory vs. Ref (p<0.0001) Embayments vs. Ref (p=0.0044) Clinch vs. Ref (p=0.018) Tennessee vs. Ref (p=0.0092) MHD vs. Ref (p=0.0097) p=0.018 p=0.0044 p=0.0097 p=0.042 p=0.0092 Selenium Concentrations in Eggs (mg/kg dry weight) Selenium Concentrations in Eggs (mg/kg dry weight) Tennessee River FLD Clinch River Emory River FLD MHD Clinch River Embayments Emory River MHD Location Location Historically Impacted Historically Impacted Reference Reference Impacted Impacted

10. Tree Swallow Nestlings Detected Metals (>5%) Barium Cadmium Calcium Chromium Copper Iron Lead Magnesium Manganese Mercury Molybdenum Nickel Potassium Selenium Silver Sodium Strontium Zinc • 2-way ANOVA: Year, Location, Interaction • Year • Iron • Magnesium • Potassium • Sodium • Zinc • Location • Manganese • Selenium • Strontium http://www.bluebirdnut.com/2004_season.htm

11. Tree Swallow Nestlings 2010 2009 2010 Selenium Concentrations in 15-day Nestlings (mg/kg dry weight) Selenium Concentrations in 15-day Nestlings (mg/kg dry weight) Clinch River Emory River Clinch River Emory River FLD MHD FLD MHD Historically Impacted Historically Impacted Reference Impacted Reference Impacted Location Location

12. Tree Swallow Nestlings 8 • 2-way ANOVA • Year (p=0.052) • Location (p<0.0001) • Interaction (p=0.25) 6 Selenium Concentrations in 15-day Nestlings (mg/kg dry weight) 4 • Tukey-Kramer • MHD vs all other locations (p<0.0001) 2 Historically Impacted Reference Impacted Location

13. Preliminary Population Metrics • Clutch sizes ranged from 2-7 eggs (mean=4.33, n=155). • Average hatching success was similar among sites in 2010, ranging from 84.39% to 93.24% (Kruskal-Wallis, p=0.25). • Nestling survival to day 15 did not differ between sites (Kruskal-Wallis, p=0.27).

14. Evaluations in Progress • Relationships between egg concentrations, egg shells, and nestlings collected from the same nests. • Correlations between egg metrics and metal concentrations. • Relationships between adult mayfly concentrations and concentrations in 15-day nestlings. • Food chain modeling for tree swallows using adult mayfly concentrations and modeled invertebrate concentrations.

15. Conclusions • Certain trace elements (i.e., Se) are elevated in egg tissues of tree swallows. • Tree swallow nestlings from the historically impacted location appear to be at greatest risk of exposure to selenium. • Full scale physiological/reproductive studies will determine whether exposure to trace elements has adverse effects on tree swallows.

16. Acknowledgements Dr. William Hopkins U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency Kingston City Parks and Recreation Mr. and Mrs. Curtis Humphreys Mr. and Mrs. McMurray Adam Johnson Travis Walls Neil Carriker Wes James Ken Weisz Lori Whitehorse Amber Stojak Jackie Iannuzzi Tom Bock Jason Brown David Greenberg

17. QUESTIONS?