Seabirds reveal mercury distribution across the North Atlantic

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Main Authors: Albert, Céline, Moe, Børge, Strøm, Hallvard, Grémillet, David, Brault-Favrou, Maud, Tarroux, Arnaud, Descamps, Sébastien, Bråthen, Vegard Sandøy, Merkel, Benjamin, Åström, Jens, Amélineau, Françoise, Angelier, Frédéric, Anker-Nilssen, Tycho, Chastel, Olivier, Christensen-Dalsgaard, Signe, Danielsen, Johannis, Elliott, Kyle, Erikstad, Kjell Einar, Ezhov, Alexey, Fauchald, Per, Gabrielsen, Geir, Gavrilo, Maria, Hanssen, Sveinn Are, Helgason, Hálfdán, Johansen, Malin Kjellstadli, Kolbeinsson, Yann, Krasnov, Yuri, Langset, Magdalene, Lemaire, Jérémy, Lorentsen, Svein-Håkon, Olsen, Bergur, Patterson, Allison, Plumejeaud-Perreau, Christine, Reiertsen, Tone, Systad, Geir Helge, Thompson, Paul, Lindberg Thórarinsson, Thorkell, Bustamante, Paco, Fort, Jérôme
• Other Authors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), Norwegian Polar Institute, Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution Rennes (ECOBIO), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement - CNRS Ecologie et Environnement (INEE-CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Faroe Marine Research Institute, McGill University = Université McGill Montréal, Canada, Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences Moscow (RAS), Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring (Roshydromet), Northeast Iceland Nature Research Centre Húsavík, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, University of Aberdeen, ANR-16-TERC-0004,MAMBA,Contamination par le mercure des écosystèmes arctiques : sources, niveaux et impacts(2016), ANR-16-CE34-0005,ILETOP,Impact des polluants historiques et émergents sur les prédateurs supérieurs marins de l'Arctique(2016), ANR-20-CE34-0006,ARCTIC-STRESSORS,Effets combinés des stresseurs environnementaux multiples sur les oiseaux marins Arctiques(2020)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: Pollutants; Mercury; Seabirds; Bioindications; North-Atlantic Arctic; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; Arctic; Canada; Greenland; Atlantic Arctic; Atlantic-Arctic; East Greenland; east greenland current; Human health; Ice Sheet; North Atlantic; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04574186; https://hal.science/hal-04574186v1/document; https://hal.science/hal-04574186v1/file/Albert%20et%20al_Manuscripts_PNAS_HAL.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2315513121

International audience Mercury (Hg) is a heterogeneously distributed toxicant affecting wildlife and human health. Yet, the spatial distribution of Hg remains poorly documented, especially in food webs, even though this knowledge is essential to assess large-scale risk of toxicity for the biota and human populations. Here, we used seabirds to assess, at an unprecedented population and geographic magnitude and high resolution, the spatial distribution of Hg in North Atlantic marine food webs. To this end, we combined tracking data of 837 seabirds from seven different species and 27 breeding colonies located across the North Atlantic and Atlantic Arctic together with Hg analyses in feathers representing individual seabird contamination based on their winter distribution. Our results highlight an east-west gradient in Hg concentrations with hot spots around southern Greenland and the east coast of Canada and a cold spot in the Barents and Kara Seas. We hypothesize that those gradients are influenced by eastern (Norwegian Atlantic Current and West Spitsbergen Current) and western (East Greenland Current) oceanic currents and melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. By tracking spatial Hg contamination in marine ecosystems and through the identification of areas at risk of Hg toxicity, this study provides essential knowledge for international decisions about where the regulation of pollutants should be prioritized.