Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences

Polar regions, symbols of wilderness, have been identified as potential sinks of mercury coming from natural and anthropogenic sources at lower latitudes. Changes in ice coverage currently occurring in some areas such as the Antarctic Peninsula could enhance these phenomena and their impacts on loca...

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Published in:International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Main Authors: Miguel Motas, Silvia Jerez, Marta Esteban, Francisco Valera, José Javier Cuervo, Andrés Barbosa
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021
Subjects:
R
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189918
https://doaj.org/article/c08482f757794d9e859272a13137bea9
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spelling ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c08482f757794d9e859272a13137bea9 2023-05-15T13:51:07+02:00 Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences Miguel Motas Silvia Jerez Marta Esteban Francisco Valera José Javier Cuervo Andrés Barbosa 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189918 https://doaj.org/article/c08482f757794d9e859272a13137bea9 EN eng MDPI AG https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9918 https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827 https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601 doi:10.3390/ijerph18189918 1660-4601 1661-7827 https://doaj.org/article/c08482f757794d9e859272a13137bea9 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 9918, p 9918 (2021) mercury penguins feathers Antarctic Peninsula biomonitoring Medicine R article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189918 2022-12-31T07:41:22Z Polar regions, symbols of wilderness, have been identified as potential sinks of mercury coming from natural and anthropogenic sources at lower latitudes. Changes in ice coverage currently occurring in some areas such as the Antarctic Peninsula could enhance these phenomena and their impacts on local biota. As long-lived species at the top of food chains, seabirds are particularly sensitive to this highly toxic metal with the capacity to be biomagnified. Specifically, their feathers can be useful for Hg monitoring since they mainly accumulate its most toxic and persistent form, methyl-Hg. To that end, feathers of gentoo ( Pygoscelis papua ), chinstrap ( P. antarcticus ), and Adélie penguins ( P. adeliae ) ( n = 108) were collected by passive sampling in seven different locations throughout the Antarctic Peninsula area and analyzed by ICP-MS after microwave-digestion. More than 93% of the samples showed detectable Hg levels (range: 6.3–12,529.8 ng g −1 dry weight), and the highest ones were found in the feathers of chinstrap penguins from King George Island. Hg bioconcentration and biomagnification seem to be occurring in the Antarctic food web, giving rise to high but non-toxic Hg levels in penguins, similar to those previously found in Arctic seabirds. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula antarcticus Arctic King George Island Pygoscelis papua Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Antarctic The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula King George Island International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18 18 9918
institution Open Polar
collection Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles
op_collection_id ftdoajarticles
language English
topic mercury
penguins
feathers
Antarctic Peninsula
biomonitoring
Medicine
R
spellingShingle mercury
penguins
feathers
Antarctic Peninsula
biomonitoring
Medicine
R
Miguel Motas
Silvia Jerez
Marta Esteban
Francisco Valera
José Javier Cuervo
Andrés Barbosa
Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences
topic_facet mercury
penguins
feathers
Antarctic Peninsula
biomonitoring
Medicine
R
description Polar regions, symbols of wilderness, have been identified as potential sinks of mercury coming from natural and anthropogenic sources at lower latitudes. Changes in ice coverage currently occurring in some areas such as the Antarctic Peninsula could enhance these phenomena and their impacts on local biota. As long-lived species at the top of food chains, seabirds are particularly sensitive to this highly toxic metal with the capacity to be biomagnified. Specifically, their feathers can be useful for Hg monitoring since they mainly accumulate its most toxic and persistent form, methyl-Hg. To that end, feathers of gentoo ( Pygoscelis papua ), chinstrap ( P. antarcticus ), and Adélie penguins ( P. adeliae ) ( n = 108) were collected by passive sampling in seven different locations throughout the Antarctic Peninsula area and analyzed by ICP-MS after microwave-digestion. More than 93% of the samples showed detectable Hg levels (range: 6.3–12,529.8 ng g −1 dry weight), and the highest ones were found in the feathers of chinstrap penguins from King George Island. Hg bioconcentration and biomagnification seem to be occurring in the Antarctic food web, giving rise to high but non-toxic Hg levels in penguins, similar to those previously found in Arctic seabirds.
format Article in Journal/Newspaper
author Miguel Motas
Silvia Jerez
Marta Esteban
Francisco Valera
José Javier Cuervo
Andrés Barbosa
author_facet Miguel Motas
Silvia Jerez
Marta Esteban
Francisco Valera
José Javier Cuervo
Andrés Barbosa
author_sort Miguel Motas
title Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences
title_short Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences
title_full Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences
title_fullStr Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences
title_full_unstemmed Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences
title_sort mercury levels in feathers of penguins from the antarctic peninsula area: geographical and inter-specific differences
publisher MDPI AG
publishDate 2021
url https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189918
https://doaj.org/article/c08482f757794d9e859272a13137bea9
geographic Arctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
King George Island
geographic_facet Arctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
King George Island
genre Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
antarcticus
Arctic
King George Island
Pygoscelis papua
genre_facet Antarc*
Antarctic
Antarctic Peninsula
antarcticus
Arctic
King George Island
Pygoscelis papua
op_source International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 9918, p 9918 (2021)
op_relation https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/18/9918
https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827
https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601
doi:10.3390/ijerph18189918
1660-4601
1661-7827
https://doaj.org/article/c08482f757794d9e859272a13137bea9
op_doi https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189918
container_title International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
container_volume 18
container_issue 18
container_start_page 9918
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