Our waterways are in a critical state. Sewage dumping, runoff from agricultural land, roadways, and industrial discharge pollute our water with harmful chemicals, degrading our aquatic ecosystems with serious consequences for wildlife.
Despite this, waterways including wastewater treatment plants and sewage sites have emerged as unlikely but vital sanctuaries for songbirds like swallows and martins (Hirundines) as they are teeming with a rich diversity of invertebrates. Unfortunately, whilst being a valuable food source for these birds, they are a potent source of pollutants including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that interfere with hormones. Whilst these pollutants are known to be harmful, there is limited research on their presence in wastewater plants and how they affect Hirundine populations.
This study aims to address these critical knowledge gaps by providing robust evidence of EDCs in aquatic ecosystems and tracing their pathways through the food chain. The findings will inform targeted recommendations for regulatory bodies, with the ultimate goal of reducing EDC exposure in wild bird populations and enhancing their reproductive fitness.
SongBird Survival has partnered with a research team at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) to determine whether endocrine-disrupting chemicals that pollute our waterways affect Hirundine songbirds' breeding success. The project aims to answer three key questions:
Working under the supervision of Dr. Sue Anne Zollinger and with support from the Environment Agency, PhD student Jennifer Darby is studying sand martin colonies at a number of sites which provide an overview of the types of pollutants these birds are exposed to through their feeding habits. Sand martins nest in colonies, allowing for large sample sizes at each site.
Jenny will first collect water, sediment and invertebrate samples from the sites, then blood samples from the sand martins to check for EDCs.
Regular nest checks will also be carried out to determine reproductive fitness of the sand martins including clutch size, embryo mortality, chick development and fledgling success.
Jenny is a current PhD student at Manchester Metropolitan University investigating endocrine disrupting chemicals in waterways and the impact on the survival and breeding success of sand martins and other songbirds.
Dr Robert Sparkes is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science at Manchester Metropolitan University and co-supervises the endocrine disrupting chemicals PhD.
Dr David Megson is currently a Reader in Chemistry and Environmental Forensics at Manchester Metropolitan University and co-supervises the endocrine disrupting chemicals PhD. He also works on pollution litigation cases as a Senior Environmental Consultant at Chemistry Matters (Canada).
Dr Sue Anne Zollinger is a Senior Lecturer in Animal Behaviour and Physiology at Manchester Metropolitan University. She is currently the principal investigator supervising Jenny in the endocrine disrupting chemicals project.
Albini, D., Lester, L., Sanders, P., Hughes, J. and Jackson, M. (2023) The combined effects of treated sewage discharge and land use on rivers. Global Change Biology, 29(22): 6415-6422 https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16934
Shipley, R., Twining, C., Mathieu-Resuge, M., Parmar, T., Kainz, M., Martin-Creuzburg, D., Weber, C., Winkler, D., Graham, C. and Matthews, B. (2022) Climate change shifts the timing of nutritional flux from aquatic insects. Curr Biol, 28;32(6): 1342-1349 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.01.057
Wear, S., Acuña, V., McDonald, R. and Font, C. (2021) Sewage pollution, declining ecosystem health, and cross-sector collaboration. Biological Conservation, 255 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109010
Whelan, M., Linstead, C., Worrall, F., Ormerod, S., Durance, I., Johnson, A., Johnson, D., Owen, M., Wiik, E., Howden, N., Burt, T., Boxall, A., Brown, C., Oliver, D. and Tickner, D. (2022) Is water quality in British rivers “better than at any time since the end of the Industrial Revolution”? Science of The Total Environment, 843:15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157014
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