Seabird colonies influence ecosystems by releasing high concentrations of nutrients, metals, and contaminants via their wastes. Here, we examined seven lentic waterbodies impacted by two major colonies of Leach’s Storm-petrel (Hydrobates leucorhous), six from Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland and Labrador with ~ 1.95 million breeding pairs, and another from Grand Colombier Island, St. Pierre and Miquelon with ~ 200,000 breeding pairs. In comparison to nearby study sites not influenced by seabirds, we recorded more acidic pH, elevated specific conductance, and higher concentrations of dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus in the seabird-influenced sites. The storm-petrels also significantly increased the metal concentrations of Co, Cu, Fe, Li, Nb, Ni, Sn, Sr, and Ti relative to reference sites. In the most highly affected ponds, the concentrations of Cd, Cu, and Fe exceeded Canadian Water Quality Guidelines for the Protection of Aquatic Life, implicating seabirds as biovectors of environmental contamination. Together, our data highlight the importance of seabirds, and likely other colonial organisms, as influential vectors that can strongly impact aquatic ecosystem chemistry and biota.

海鸟殖民地通过其废物释放高浓度的养分，金属和污染物来影响生态系统。在这里，我们研究了受Leach风暴海燕（Hydrobates leucorhous）的两个主要殖民地影响的七个透镜状水体），其中六个来自Baccalieu岛，纽芬兰和拉布拉多，约有195万个繁殖对，另一个来自大哥伦比尔岛，圣皮埃尔和密克隆群岛，约有20万个繁殖对。与不受海鸟影响的附近研究地点相比，在受海鸟影响的地方，我们记录到更多的酸性pH，较高的比电导率和较高的溶解有机碳，总氮和总磷浓度。相对于参考点，风暴海燕还显着提高了Co，Cu，Fe，Li，Nb，Ni，Sn，Sr和Ti的金属浓度。在受影响最严重的池塘中，镉，铜和铁的浓度超过了《加拿大保护水生生物的水质准则》，暗示海鸟是环境污染的生物媒介。总之，我们的数据突出了海鸟的重要性，