Summary of Existing Information Pertinent to Environmental Contaminants and Oil Spills on Breeding Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers
Steven E. Mierzykowski
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Information regarding environmental contaminants and oil spills on breeding Atlantic Coast
piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) was solicited from state and federal biologists, and through
database and literature searches. The results are summarized in this report.
Since 1990, thirty-three composite or individual non-viable or abandoned piping plover egg
samples from Maine, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware have been analyzed for residues of
organochlorine compounds and trace elements. No contaminant egg data are known to exist for
piping plovers from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, North
Carolina or South Carolina. Several piping plover egg samples from the northern states have
been collected and archived over the years, but not analyzed due to lack of funds.
Region 5 ID: 53411-1113-0000
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
http://www.fws.gov/northeast/mainecontaminants/pdf/2009%20PIPL%20Contaminant%20and%20Oil%20Spill%20Review.pdf, 200 KB
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Maine Contaminants Program