Dataset title: Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (Ammospiza maritima mirabilis) breast feather total mercury concentrations from the Florida Everglades, Florida, USA: breeding seasons 2016 - 2018 Dataset ID: doi:10.6073/pasta/02b67b374c052132c0f80a3934d7b1a6 Dataset Creator Name: Alan Mock Organization: Florida International University Email: ajmock.ecology@gmail.com Name: Thomas Virzi Organization: Conservation InSight Email: tvirzi@conservationinsight.org Metadata Provider Organization: Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Address: Florida International University 11200 SW 8th Street, OE 148 Miami, FL 33199 USA Phone: 305-348-6054 Email: fcelter@fiu.edu URL: https://fcelter.fiu.edu Dataset Abstract This dataset was used to determine hydrologic parameters influencing Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow (CSSS) mercury exposure and potential mercury effects on their reproductive success in the Florida Everglades. We collected breast feathers for total mercury determination from juvenile and adult CSSS during (or shortly after) three breeding seasons (March 1 to July 31) and monitored the same individuals' breeding performance (mate status, number of nest attempts, number of successful nest attempts, total productivity of nests, clutch size, total count of eggs, and hatch success). Hydrologic parameters (average water depths, drought length, water recession rate, and hydroperiod) were estimated using the Everglades Depth Estimation Network and in situ depth measurements. Data collection is complete. Geographic Coverage Bounding Coordinates Geographic description: SV West bounding coordinate: -80.82905 East bounding coordinate: -80.82905 North bounding coordinate: 25.67822 South bounding coordinate: 25.67822 Geographic description: AH West bounding coordinate: -80.81619 East bounding coordinate: -80.81619 North bounding coordinate: 25.32986 South bounding coordinate: 25.32986 Geographic description: DL West bounding coordinate: -80.80609 East bounding coordinate: -80.80609 North bounding coordinate: 25.33913 South bounding coordinate: 25.33913 Geographic description: NM West bounding coordinate: -80.81657 East bounding coordinate: -80.81657 North bounding coordinate: 25.35704 South bounding coordinate: 25.35704 Geographic description: CS West bounding coordinate: -80.62836 East bounding coordinate: -80.62836 North bounding coordinate: 25.42796 South bounding coordinate: 25.42796 Geographic description: DS West bounding coordinate: -80.5591 East bounding coordinate: -80.5591 North bounding coordinate: 25.33916 South bounding coordinate: 25.33916 Geographic description: BH West bounding coordinate: -80.70755 East bounding coordinate: -80.70755 North bounding coordinate: 25.51697 South bounding coordinate: 25.51697 Geographic description: EC West bounding coordinate: -80.6875 East bounding coordinate: -80.6875 North bounding coordinate: 25.49997 South bounding coordinate: 25.49997 Geographic description: TP West bounding coordinate: -80.66743 East bounding coordinate: -80.66743 North bounding coordinate: 25.48218 South bounding coordinate: 25.48218 Temporal Coverage Start Date: 2016 End Date: 2018 Data Table Entity Name: FCE1271_CSSS_THg_Breeding.csv Entity Description: CSV of Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow breast feather total mercury concentrations, reproductive endpoints, and hydrologic covariates. Object Name: FCE1271_CSSS_THg_Breeding.csv Data Format Number of Header Lines: 1 Attribute Orientation: column Field Delimiter: , Number of Records: Attributes Attribute Name: Lab_ID Attribute Label: Lab_ID Attribute Definition: Laboratory that performed total mercury determination in the breast feathers. Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: 1= University of Florida 2= Oregon State University Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Subpopulation Attribute Label: Subpopulation Attribute Definition: Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow subpopulation of sample Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: A= Subpopulation A B= Subpopulation B C= Subpopulation C D= Subpopulation D E= Subpopulation E Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: StudyPlot Attribute Label: StudyPlot Attribute Definition: Sample location within subpopulation Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: AH= Site AH BH= Site BH CS= Site CS DL= Site DL DS= Site DS EC= Site EC NM= Site NM SV= Site SV TP= Site TP Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Band_ID Attribute Label: Band_ID Attribute Definition: Unique band identification of individual Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: text Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Date Attribute Label: Date Attribute Definition: Date feather sample was collected Storage Type: dateTime Measurement Scale: Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Year Attribute Label: Year Attribute Definition: Calendar year feather sample was collected Storage Type: dateTime Measurement Scale: Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Month Attribute Label: Month Attribute Definition: Calendar month feather sample was collected Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: text Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Day Attribute Label: Day Attribute Definition: Day of month feather sample was collected Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: text Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Julian_Day Attribute Label: Julian_Day Attribute Definition: Day of calendar year feather sample was collected Storage Type: integer Measurement Scale: Units: day Number Type: real Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Sex Attribute Label: Sex Attribute Definition: Biological sex of individual Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: F= Female M= Male U= Undetermined Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Age_Class Attribute Label: Age_Class Attribute Definition: Age class of individual Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: AHY= After-hatch-year HY= hatch-year Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: THg Attribute Label: THg Attribute Definition: Total mercury concentration per unit dry mass of feather sample Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: microgramPerGram Number Type: real Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: MS Attribute Label: MS Attribute Definition: Mate status of individual during the breeding season Storage Type: string Measurement Scale: P= Paired S= Single U= Unknown Missing Value Code: NA (No data available for hatch-year individuals) Attribute Name: NeA Attribute Label: NeA Attribute Definition: Nest attempts by individual during the breeding season Storage Type: integer Measurement Scale: Units: number Number Type: integer Missing Value Code: -9999 (No data available for hatch-year individuals) Attribute Name: NS Attribute Label: NS Attribute Definition: Number of nests that were successful (yielded at least one fledged hatch-year bird) Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: number Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No data available for hatch-year individuals) Attribute Name: TP Attribute Label: TP Attribute Definition: Total productivity of all nests an individual attempted Storage Type: integer Measurement Scale: Units: number Number Type: integer Missing Value Code: -9999 (No data available for hatch-year individuals; No data available for after-hatch-year individuals where no nest attempts were observed) Attribute Name: CL Attribute Label: CL Attribute Definition: Average clutch size of nest attempt(s) Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: number Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No data available for hatch-year individuals; No data available for after-hatch-year individuals where no nest attempts were observed) Attribute Name: TE Attribute Label: TE Attribute Definition: Total count of eggs from all nest attempts Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: number Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No data available for hatch-year individuals; No data available for after-hatch-year individuals where no nest attempts were observed) Attribute Name: HS Attribute Label: HS Attribute Definition: Hatch Success Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: dimensionless Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No data available for hatch-year individuals; No data available for after-hatch-year individuals where no nest attempts were observed) Attribute Name: WaterYear Attribute Label: WATERYEAR Attribute Definition: Annual year from May 1 through April 31 Storage Type: dateTime Measurement Scale: Missing Value Code: Attribute Name: Molt_Depth Attribute Label: Molt_Depth Attribute Definition: Average water depth from August 1 to October 31 Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: centimeter Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No depth data available) Attribute Name: Post_Molt_Depth Attribute Label: Post_Molt_Depth Attribute Definition: Average water depth from November 1 to December 31 Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: centimeter Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No depth data available) Attribute Name: Dry_Len_0_PrevYear Attribute Label: Dry_Len_0_PrevYear Attribute Definition: Days water depth was less than or equal to 0 cm the previous breeding season (March 1 to July 31) Storage Type: integer Measurement Scale: Units: nominalDay Number Type: integer Missing Value Code: -9999 (No depth data available) Attribute Name: Pre_Molt_Depth Attribute Label: Pre_Molt_Depth Attribute Definition: Average water depth from May 1 to July 31 Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: centimeter Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No depth data available) Attribute Name: PreBreeding_RecessionRate Attribute Label: PreBreeding_RecessionRate Attribute Definition: Average daily change in water depth from January 1 to February 28 Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: centimeterPerDay Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No depth data available) Attribute Name: WaterYear_Hydroperiod Attribute Label: WaterYear_Hydroperiod Attribute Definition: Count of days that water depth exceeded 0 cm during the water year (May 1 to April 31) Storage Type: integer Measurement Scale: Units: nominalDay Number Type: integer Missing Value Code: -9999 (No depth data available) Attribute Name: PreBreeding_Depth Attribute Label: PreBreeding_Depth Attribute Definition: Average daily water depth from January 1 to March 31 Storage Type: float Measurement Scale: Units: centimeter Number Type: real Missing Value Code: -9999 (No depth data available) Methods Method Step Description We visited sites 2-3 days per week and monitored adult Cape Sable Seaside Sparrows' locations in breeding territories and active nests. We captured adult and juvenile Cape Sable Seaside Sparrows in mist nets, color-banded newly captured individuals, and collected 6-8 breast feathers. Feathers collected in 2016 and 2017 were oven-dried, weighed for dry mass (Mettler Toledo AG204), and analyzed for total mercury (Milestone DMA 80). Feathers collected in 2018 were air-dried, weighed for dry mass (Sartorius ME5), and analyzed for total mercury (Model RA-915+/PYRO-915+). Intra-individual feather THg concentrations were more variable in 2018 (average relative standard deviation = 32%) so we took the mean value of 2–4 feathers per individual CSSS to estimate individual Hg burden (Peterson et al. 2019). All animal handling and sampling methods were approved by a United States Geological Survey federal bird banding permit (#23166) and a United States Fish and Wildlife Service native endangered species recovery permit (#TE075916). Field work was conducted under the United States National Park Service permits: EVER-2016-SCI-0025, EVER-2017-SCI-0028, and EVER-2018-SCI-0024. Please note that permits authorizing collection of these data are unrelated to the FCE LTER program; the data package contact can provide more information. References: Peterson SH, Ackerman JT, Toney M, Herzog MP (2019) Mercury concentrations vary within and among individual bird feathers: a critical evaluation and guidelines for feather use in mercury monitoring programs. Environ Toxicol Chem 38(6):1164–1187. https://doi.org/10.1002/ETC.4430 Distribution Online distribution: https://pasta.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/knb-lter-fce/1271/1/5eb6c13ad17c2e8332a9e8ef0bb405ea Intellectual Rights Dataset Keywords Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow mercury pollutant FCE LTER Everglades National Park Florida Coastal Everglades LTER birds disturbance Maintenance There is no ongoing data collection or planned maintenance for this dataset. Dataset Contact Name: Alan Mock Position: Graduate Student Organization: Florida International University Address: Miami, FL USA Email: ajmock.ecology@gmail.com Name: Thomas Virzi Position: Principal Investigator Organization: Conservation InSight Address: Happy Valley, OR USA Email: tvirzi@conservationinsight.org Position: Information Manager Organization: Florida Coastal Everglades LTER Address: Florida International University 11200 SW 8th Street, OE 148 Miami, FL 33199 USA Email: fcelter@fiu.edu URL: https://fcelter.fiu.edu Project permits Please note that permits authorizing collection of these data are unrelated to the FCE LTER program; the data package contact can provide more information. National Park Service scientific research and collecting permit EVER-2016-SCI-0025 National Park Service scientific research and collecting permit EVER-2017-SCI-0028 National Park Service scientific research and collecting permit EVER-2018-SCI-0024 United States Geological Survey federal bird banding permit #23166 United States Fish and Wildlife Service native endangered species recovery permit #TE075916