EXPERIMENTAL OILING OF SANDERLINGS (CALIDRIS-ALBA) - BEHAVIOR AND WEIGHT CHANGES

We applied fresh and weathered oil from the Anitra oil spill to the be lly feathers of experimental sanderlings (Calidris alba) to simulate 2 0% plumage oiling, whereas controls were stroked with clean swabs only . We tested the null hypotheses that there were no differences in beha vior following oiling and that there were no differences in weight gai n or loss in control and experimental birds. Control sanderlings showe d no differences in behavior before and after oiling, but oiled birds spent significantly less time resting and more time bathing and preeni ng. Significant differences in weight and behavior were observed betwe en the control and oiled birds. Following oiling, the sanderlings pree ned vigorously, spreading the oil so that they appeared to have oiling rates of 30%. Thereafter, the percentage of their plumage that was oi led decreased steadily over the next 2 weeks, but the birds never appe ared completely free of oil.