Paralytic shellfish toxins and seabirds: evaluating sublethal effects, behavioral responses, and ecological implications of saxitoxin ingestion by common murres (Uria aalge).

ABSTRACT: Paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs), including saxitoxin (STX) and its congeners, are neurotoxins that can be produced during harmful algal blooms and cause illness or death in humans, fish, seabirds, and marine mammals. Since 2014, multiple large-scale seabird mortality events have occurred in Alaska waters, with STXs detected in some carcasses. To investigate the sublethal behavioral and ecological effects of STX on seabirds, we conducted captive dosing trials with common murres (Uria aalge). We gavaged purified STX (dehydrated STX dihydrocholoride, STX-diHCl) or an Alexandrium catenella culture extract into murres, monitored behavioral responses and recovery times, and assessed tissue concentrations in individuals that died or were euthanized. Using a modified up-and-down dose-finding sch

SUBMITTER: Smith MM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12373010 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature