Carryover effects of winter mercury contamination on summer concentrations and reproductive performance in little auks

• Published in: Environmental Pollution
• Main Authors: Alice, Carravieri, Sophie, Lorioux, Frédéric, Angelier, Olivier, Chastel, Céline, Albert, Vegard Sandøy, Bråthen, Emile, Brisson-Curadeau, Manon, Clairbaux, Karine, Delord, Mathieu, Giraudeau, Samuel, Perret, Timothée, Poupart, Cécile, Ribout, Amélia, Viricel-Pante, David, Grémillet, Paco, Bustamante, Jérôme, Fort
• Other Authors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-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), Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), McGill University = Université McGill Montréal, Canada, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences Cork (BEES), University College Cork (UCC), 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), Patrimoine naturel (PatriNat), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR) (LEMAR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Percy FitzPatrick Institute, University of Cape Town, Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.), 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)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2023
• Subjects: Feathers; Reproduction; Migration; Seabird; Telomeres; Blood; Chick growth; [SDV.BDLR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Reproductive Biology; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; Arctic; Greenland; Alle alle; East Greenland; little auk; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hal.univ-brest.fr/hal-04029591; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.120774

International audience Many animals migrate after reproduction to respond to seasonal environmental changes. Environmental con-ditions experienced on non-breeding sites can have carryover effects on fitness. Exposure to harmful chemicalscan vary widely between breeding and non-breeding grounds, but its carryover effects are poorly studied.Mercury (Hg) contamination is a major concern in the Arctic. Here, we quantified winter Hg contamination andits carryover effects in the most abundant Arctic seabird, the little auk Alle alle. Winter Hg contamination of birdsfrom an East Greenland population was inferred from head feather concentrations. Birds tracked with GlobalLocation Sensors (GLS, N = 28 of the total 92) spent the winter in western and central North Atlantic waters andhad increasing head feather Hg concentrations with increasing longitude (i.e., eastward). This spatial pattern wasnot predicted by environmental variables such as bathymetry, sea-surface temperature or productivity, and needsfurther investigation. Hg concentrations in head feathers and blood were strongly correlated, suggesting acarryover effect of adult winter contamination on the consequent summer concentrations. Head feather Hgconcentrations had no clear association with telomere length, a robust fitness indicator. In contrast, carryovernegative effects were detected on chick health, as parental Hg contamination in winter was associated withdecreasing growth rate of chicks in summer. Head feather Hg concentrations of females were not associated withegg membrane Hg concentrations, or with egg volume. In addition, parental winter Hg contamination was notrelated to Hg burdens in chicks’ body feathers. Therefore, we hypothesise that the association between parentalwinter Hg exposure and the growth of their chick results from an Hg-related decrease in parental care, and needsfurther empirical evidence. Our results stress the need of considering parental contamination on non-breedingsites to understand Hg trans-generational effects in migrating ...