Preliminary use of uric acid as a biomarker for wading birds on Everglades Tree Islands, Florida, United States
Open-File Report
2009-1203
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Abstract
Concentrations of organic biomarkers and concentrations of phosphorus in soil cores can potentially be used as proxies for historic population densities of wading birds on tree islands in the Florida Everglades. This report focuses on establishing a link between the organic biomarker uric acid found in wading bird guano and the high phosphorus concentrations in tree island soils in the Florida Everglades. Uric acid was determined in soil core sections, in surface samples, and in bird guano by using a method of high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) developed for this purpose. Preliminary results show an overall correlation between uric acid and total phosphorus in three soil cores, with a general trend of decreasing concentrations of both uric acid and phosphorus with depth. However, we have also found no uric acid in a soil core having high concentrations of phosphorus. We believe that this result may be explained by different geochemical circumstances at that site.
Suggested Citation
Bates, A.L., Orem, W.H., Newman, S., Gawlik, D.E., Lerch, H.E., Corum, M., Van Winkle, M., 2010, Preliminary use of uric acid as a biomarker for wading birds on Everglades Tree Islands, Florida, United States : U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009-1203, v, 26 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20091203.
ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)
ISSN: 0196-1497 (print)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Preliminary use of uric acid as a biomarker for wading birds on Everglades Tree Islands, Florida, United States |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 2009-1203 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr20091203 |
| Year Published | 2010 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Contributing office(s) | Eastern Energy Resources Science Center |
| Description | v, 26 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| Other Geospatial | Everglade Tree Islands |
| Online Only (Y/N) | N |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |