Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna
Mercury is a known potent neurotoxin. The biogeochemical cycle of mercury in the remote Antarctic region is still poorly understood, with Polar climate change contributing added complexity. Longitudinal biomonitoring of mercury accumulation in Antarctic marine megafauna can contribute top-down insig...
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:530879 2023-05-15T13:41:46+02:00 Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna Bengtson Nash, S.M. Casa, M.V. Kawaguchi, S. Staniland, I. Bjerregaard, P. 2021-11 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530879/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X21008080?via%3Dihub unknown Elsevier Bengtson Nash, S.M.; Casa, M.V.; Kawaguchi, S.; Staniland, I. orcid:0000-0003-2736-9134 Bjerregaard, P. 2021 Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 172, 112774. 6, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112774 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112774> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2021 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112774 2023-02-04T19:52:28Z Mercury is a known potent neurotoxin. The biogeochemical cycle of mercury in the remote Antarctic region is still poorly understood, with Polar climate change contributing added complexity. Longitudinal biomonitoring of mercury accumulation in Antarctic marine megafauna can contribute top-down insight into the bio-physical drivers of wildlife exposure. The bioaccumulative nature of organic mercury renders high trophic predators at the greatest risk of elevated exposure. Humpback whales represent secondary consumers of the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem and an ideal biomonitoring species for persistent and bioaccumulative compounds due to their extended life-spans. This study provides the first results of mercury accumulation in humpback whales, and places findings within the context of mercury accumulation in both prey, as well as six other species of Antarctic marine megafauna. Combined, these findings contribute new baseline information regarding mercury exposure to Antarctic wildlife, and highlights methodological prerequisites for routine mercury biomonitoring in wildlife via non-lethally biopsied superficial tissues. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Marine Pollution Bulletin 172 112774 |
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Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
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description |
Mercury is a known potent neurotoxin. The biogeochemical cycle of mercury in the remote Antarctic region is still poorly understood, with Polar climate change contributing added complexity. Longitudinal biomonitoring of mercury accumulation in Antarctic marine megafauna can contribute top-down insight into the bio-physical drivers of wildlife exposure. The bioaccumulative nature of organic mercury renders high trophic predators at the greatest risk of elevated exposure. Humpback whales represent secondary consumers of the Antarctic sea-ice ecosystem and an ideal biomonitoring species for persistent and bioaccumulative compounds due to their extended life-spans. This study provides the first results of mercury accumulation in humpback whales, and places findings within the context of mercury accumulation in both prey, as well as six other species of Antarctic marine megafauna. Combined, these findings contribute new baseline information regarding mercury exposure to Antarctic wildlife, and highlights methodological prerequisites for routine mercury biomonitoring in wildlife via non-lethally biopsied superficial tissues. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bengtson Nash, S.M. Casa, M.V. Kawaguchi, S. Staniland, I. Bjerregaard, P. |
spellingShingle |
Bengtson Nash, S.M. Casa, M.V. Kawaguchi, S. Staniland, I. Bjerregaard, P. Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna |
author_facet |
Bengtson Nash, S.M. Casa, M.V. Kawaguchi, S. Staniland, I. Bjerregaard, P. |
author_sort |
Bengtson Nash, S.M. |
title |
Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna |
title_short |
Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna |
title_full |
Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna |
title_fullStr |
Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna |
title_sort |
mercury levels in humpback whales, and other southern ocean marine megafauna |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/530879/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X21008080?via%3Dihub |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Sea ice Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
Bengtson Nash, S.M.; Casa, M.V.; Kawaguchi, S.; Staniland, I. orcid:0000-0003-2736-9134 Bjerregaard, P. 2021 Mercury levels in humpback whales, and other Southern Ocean marine megafauna. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 172, 112774. 6, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112774 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112774> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112774 |
container_title |
Marine Pollution Bulletin |
container_volume |
172 |
container_start_page |
112774 |
_version_ |
1766157555722092544 |