The knowledge of diet habits is basic for the understanding of several life history traits in a species as well as for the understanding of all those aspects related to its conservation. Many aquatic birds are placed at the highest levels of trophic networks and therefore become excellent bioindicators of the availability of alimentary resources in an ecosystem. In our work, we are using several diet tracers (steady isotopes, fatty acids, pigments...) with the aim of assessing space-time changes in feeding patterns as a response to changing conditions in the environment.

Many industrial and agricultural human activities imply pouring chemical substances into the environment. Aquatic ecosystems as well as inhabiting organisms usually constitute their final receptors. Pollutant's chemical analysis using aquatic bird species as bioindicators and the study of pollution biomarkers allow the quantitative and qualitative assessment of their impact.