Data from: Mercury exposure in an endangered seabird: long-term changes and relationships with trophic ecology and breeding success ...

• Main Authors: Mills, William, Bustamante, Paco, McGill, Rona, Anderson, Orea, Bearhop, Stuart, Cherel, Yves, Votier, Stephen, Phillips, Richard
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2020
• Subjects: Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vdncjsxsq; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.vdncjsxsq

Mercury (Hg) is an environmental contaminant which, at high concentrations, can negatively influence avian physiology and demography. Albatrosses (Diomedeidae) have higher Hg burdens than all other avian families. Here, we measure total Hg (THg) concentrations of body feathers from adult grey-headed albatrosses (Thalassarche chrysostoma) at South Georgia. Specifically, we: (i) analyse temporal trends at South Georgia (1989–2013) and make comparisons with other breeding populations; (ii) identify factors driving variation in THg concentrations; and, (iii) examine relationships with breeding success. Mean ± SD feather THg concentrations were 13.0 ± 8.0 µg g-1 dw, which represents a threefold increase over the past 25 years at South Georgia and is the highest recorded in the Thalassarche genus. Foraging habitat, inferred from stable isotope ratios of carbon (δ13C), significantly influenced THg concentrations – feathers moulted in Antarctic waters had far lower THg concentrations than those moulted in ...