Contamination status and accumulation characteristics of heavy metals and arsenic in five seabird species from the central Bering Sea

Seabirds are marine top predators and accumulate high levels of metals and metalloids in their tissues. Contamination by metals in the highly productive offshore region has become a matter of public concern. It is home to 80% of the seabird population in the U.S.A., 95% of northern fur seals (Callor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Veterinary Medical Science
Main Authors: Ishii, Chihiro, Ikenaka, Yoshinori, Nakayama, Shouta M. M., Mizukawa, Hazuki, Yohannes, Yared Beyene, Watanuki, Yutaka, Fukuwaka, Masaaki, Ishizuka, Mayumi
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 公益社団法人 日本獣医学会
Subjects:
Bering Sea
cadmium
mercury
seabird
649
Fulmar
fratercula
Fulmarus glacialis
Northern Fulmar
Odobenus rosmarus
Puffinus tenuirostris
thick-billed murre
Uria lomvia
Callorhinus ursinus
uria
walrus*
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/2115/70803
https://doi.org/10.1292/jvms.16-0441
Description
Summary:Seabirds are marine top predators and accumulate high levels of metals and metalloids in their tissues. Contamination by metals in the highly productive offshore region has become a matter of public concern. It is home to 80% of the seabird population in the U.S.A., 95% of northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus), and major populations of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) and whales. Here, the concentrations of eight heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb) and a metalloid (As) in the liver and kidneys of the northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), thick-billed murre (Uria lomvia), short-tailed shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris), tufted puffin (Fratercula cirrhata) and horned puffin (Fratercula corniculata) collected in the Bering Sea were measured. As proxies of trophic level and habitat, nitrogen (delta N-15) and carbon (delta C-13) stable isotope ratios of breast muscles were also measured. Hepatic Hg concentration was high in northern fulmar, whereas Cd level was high in tufted puffin and northern fulmar. The Hg concentration and d15N value were positively correlated across individual birds, suggesting that Hg uptake was linked to the trophic status of consumed prey. Furthermore, Hg concentration in our study was higher than those of the same species of seabirds collected in 1990.

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