TY - JOUR
T1 - Seasonal variation of mercury contamination in Arctic seabirds
T2 - A pan-Arctic assessment
AU - Albert, Céline
AU - Helgason, Hálfdán Helgi
AU - Brault-Favrou, Maud
AU - Robertson, Gregory J.
AU - Descamps, Sébastien
AU - Amélineau, Françoise
AU - Danielsen, Jóhannis
AU - Dietz, Rune
AU - Elliott, Kyle
AU - Erikstad, Kjell Einar
AU - Eulaers, Igor
AU - Ezhov, Alexey
AU - Fitzsimmons, Michelle G.
AU - Gavrilo, Maria
AU - Golubova, Elena
AU - Grémillet, David
AU - Hatch, Scott
AU - Huffeldt, Nicholas P.
AU - Jakubas, Dariusz
AU - Kitaysky, Alexander
AU - Kolbeinsson, Yann
AU - Krasnov, Yuri
AU - Lorentsen, Svein-Håkon
AU - Lorentzen, Erlend
AU - Mallory, Mark L.
AU - Merkel, Benjamin
AU - Merkel, Flemming Ravn
AU - Montevecchi, William A.
AU - Mosbech, Anders
AU - Olsen, Bergur
AU - Orben, Rachael A.
AU - Patterson, Allison
AU - Provencher, Jennifer F.
AU - Plumejeaud, Christine
AU - Pratte, Isabeau
AU - Reiertsen, Tone Kristin
AU - Renner, Heather
AU - Rojek, Nora
AU - Romano, Marc
AU - Strøm, Hallvard
AU - Systad, Geir Helge
AU - Takahashi, Akinori
AU - Thiebot, Jean-Baptiste
AU - Thórarinsson, Thorkell Lindberg
AU - Will, Alexis P.
AU - Wojczulanis-Jakubas, Katarzyna
AU - Bustamante, Paco
AU - Fort, Jérôme
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Mercury (Hg) is a natural trace element found in high concentrations in top predators, including Arctic seabirds. Most current knowledge about Hg concentrations in Arctic seabirds relates to exposure during the summer breeding period when researchers can easily access seabirds at colonies. However, the few studies focused on winter have shown higher Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period than breeding period in several tissues. Hence, improving knowledge about Hg exposure during the non-breeding period is crucial to understanding the threats and risks encountered by these species year-round. We used feathers of nine migratory alcid species occurring at high latitudes to study bird Hg exposure during both the breeding and non-breeding periods. Overall, Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period were ~3 times higher than during the breeding period. In addition, spatial differences were apparent within and between the Atlantic and Pacific regions. While Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period were ~9 times and ~3 times higher than during the breeding period for the West and East Atlantic respectively, Hg concentrations in the Pacific during the non-breeding period were only ~1.7 times higher than during the breeding period. In addition, individual Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period for most of the seabird colonies were above 5 μg g−1 dry weight (dw), which is considered to be the threshold at which deleterious effects are observed, suggesting that some breeding populations might be vulnerable to non-breeding Hg exposure. Since wintering area locations, and migration routes may influence seasonal Hg concentrations, it is crucial to improve our knowledge about spatial ecotoxicology to fully understand the risks associated with Hg contamination in Arctic seabirds.
AB - Mercury (Hg) is a natural trace element found in high concentrations in top predators, including Arctic seabirds. Most current knowledge about Hg concentrations in Arctic seabirds relates to exposure during the summer breeding period when researchers can easily access seabirds at colonies. However, the few studies focused on winter have shown higher Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period than breeding period in several tissues. Hence, improving knowledge about Hg exposure during the non-breeding period is crucial to understanding the threats and risks encountered by these species year-round. We used feathers of nine migratory alcid species occurring at high latitudes to study bird Hg exposure during both the breeding and non-breeding periods. Overall, Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period were ~3 times higher than during the breeding period. In addition, spatial differences were apparent within and between the Atlantic and Pacific regions. While Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period were ~9 times and ~3 times higher than during the breeding period for the West and East Atlantic respectively, Hg concentrations in the Pacific during the non-breeding period were only ~1.7 times higher than during the breeding period. In addition, individual Hg concentrations during the non-breeding period for most of the seabird colonies were above 5 μg g−1 dry weight (dw), which is considered to be the threshold at which deleterious effects are observed, suggesting that some breeding populations might be vulnerable to non-breeding Hg exposure. Since wintering area locations, and migration routes may influence seasonal Hg concentrations, it is crucial to improve our knowledge about spatial ecotoxicology to fully understand the risks associated with Hg contamination in Arctic seabirds.
KW - Polar
KW - Top predators
KW - Metal
KW - Seasonal variation
KW - Feathers
U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142201
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142201
M3 - Article
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 750
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
M1 - 142201
ER -