The highest mercury concentrations ever reported in a South American bird, the Striated Caracara (Phalcoboenus australis)

Mercury is a widely available pollutant associated with negative effects on wildlife, especially top predators. Here, we characterized the mercury concentrations in feathers of Striated Caracara Phalcoboenus australis on Isla de los Estados (Argentina). With feather mercury levels averaging 26.3 mg/...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Biology
Main Authors: Balza, Ulises, Brasso, Rebecka, Lois, Nicolás Alejandro, Pütz, Klemens, Raya Rey, Andrea Nélida
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer
Subjects:
BIOMAGNIFICATION
CONSERVATION
EXPOSURE
HEAVY METALS
HG
RAPTOR
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Antarctic
Austral
Argentina
Nélida
Ulises
Antarc*
Antártida
Polar Biology
Rockhopper penguin
Tierra del Fuego
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/173948
Description
Summary:Mercury is a widely available pollutant associated with negative effects on wildlife, especially top predators. Here, we characterized the mercury concentrations in feathers of Striated Caracara Phalcoboenus australis on Isla de los Estados (Argentina). With feather mercury levels averaging 26.3 mg/kg, this population has the highest mean feather mercury ever reported for a bird population in South America. We propose that the high mercury concentrations are related to the feeding habits of the species: during feather moult, they are strongly associated with a Southern Rockhopper Penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome) colony known to be highly exposed to mercury contamination. Our results suggest that this Striated Caracara population should be monitored for acute effects and potential impacts of mercury toxicity. Fil: Balza, Ulises. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Ecología, Genética y Evolución; Argentina Fil: Brasso, Rebecka. Weber State University; Estados Unidos Fil: Lois, Nicolás Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; Argentina Fil: Pütz, Klemens. Antarctic Research Trust Bremervörde; Alemania Fil: Raya Rey, Andrea Nélida. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Ambientales y Recursos Naturales; Argentina

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