Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean
Antarctic marine ecosystems are often considered to be pristine environments, yet wildlife in the polar regions may still be exposed to high levels of environmental contaminants. Here, we measured total mercury (THg) concentrations in blood samples from adult brown skuas Stercorarius antarcticus lon...
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2022
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Online Access: | http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531763/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749122000550 |
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ftnerc:oai:nora.nerc.ac.uk:531763 2023-05-15T13:41:46+02:00 Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean Mills, William F. Ibañez, Andrés E. Bustamante, Paco Carneiro, Ana P.B. Bearhop, Stuart Cherel, Yves Mariano-Jelicich, Rocío McGill, Rona A.R. Montalti, Diego Votier, Stephen C. Phillips, Richard A. 2022-03-15 http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531763/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749122000550 unknown Elsevier Mills, William F. orcid:0000-0001-7170-5794 Ibañez, Andrés E.; Bustamante, Paco; Carneiro, Ana P.B.; Bearhop, Stuart; Cherel, Yves; Mariano-Jelicich, Rocío; McGill, Rona A.R.; Montalti, Diego; Votier, Stephen C.; Phillips, Richard A. 2022 Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean. Environmental Pollution, 297, 118841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118841 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118841> Publication - Article PeerReviewed 2022 ftnerc https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118841 2023-02-04T19:52:55Z Antarctic marine ecosystems are often considered to be pristine environments, yet wildlife in the polar regions may still be exposed to high levels of environmental contaminants. Here, we measured total mercury (THg) concentrations in blood samples from adult brown skuas Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (n = 82) from three breeding colonies south of the Antarctic Polar Front in the Southern Ocean (southwest Atlantic region): (i) Bahía Esperanza/Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula; (ii) Signy Island, South Orkney Islands; and, (iii) Bird Island, South Georgia. Blood THg concentrations increased from the Antarctic Peninsula towards the Antarctic Polar Front, such that Hg contamination was lowest at Bahía Esperanza/Hope Bay (mean ± SD, 0.95 ± 0.45 μg g−1 dw), intermediate at Signy Island (3.42 ± 2.29 μg g−1 dw) and highest at Bird Island (4.47 ± 1.10 μg g−1 dw). Blood THg concentrations also showed a weak positive correlation with δ15N values, likely reflecting the biomagnification process. Males had higher Hg burdens than females, which may reflect deposition of Hg into eggs by females or potentially differences in their trophic ecology. These data provide important insights into intraspecific variation in contamination and the geographic transfer of Hg to seabirds in the Southern Ocean. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula antarcticus Bird Island Signy Island South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Stercorarius antarcticus Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula South Orkney Islands ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Signy Island ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) Esperanza ENVELOPE(-56.983,-56.983,-63.400,-63.400) Hope Bay ENVELOPE(-57.038,-57.038,-63.403,-63.403) bahía Esperanza ENVELOPE(-57.000,-57.000,-63.400,-63.400) Environmental Pollution 297 118841 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Natural Environment Research Council: NERC Open Research Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftnerc |
language |
unknown |
description |
Antarctic marine ecosystems are often considered to be pristine environments, yet wildlife in the polar regions may still be exposed to high levels of environmental contaminants. Here, we measured total mercury (THg) concentrations in blood samples from adult brown skuas Stercorarius antarcticus lonnbergi (n = 82) from three breeding colonies south of the Antarctic Polar Front in the Southern Ocean (southwest Atlantic region): (i) Bahía Esperanza/Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula; (ii) Signy Island, South Orkney Islands; and, (iii) Bird Island, South Georgia. Blood THg concentrations increased from the Antarctic Peninsula towards the Antarctic Polar Front, such that Hg contamination was lowest at Bahía Esperanza/Hope Bay (mean ± SD, 0.95 ± 0.45 μg g−1 dw), intermediate at Signy Island (3.42 ± 2.29 μg g−1 dw) and highest at Bird Island (4.47 ± 1.10 μg g−1 dw). Blood THg concentrations also showed a weak positive correlation with δ15N values, likely reflecting the biomagnification process. Males had higher Hg burdens than females, which may reflect deposition of Hg into eggs by females or potentially differences in their trophic ecology. These data provide important insights into intraspecific variation in contamination and the geographic transfer of Hg to seabirds in the Southern Ocean. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mills, William F. Ibañez, Andrés E. Bustamante, Paco Carneiro, Ana P.B. Bearhop, Stuart Cherel, Yves Mariano-Jelicich, Rocío McGill, Rona A.R. Montalti, Diego Votier, Stephen C. Phillips, Richard A. |
spellingShingle |
Mills, William F. Ibañez, Andrés E. Bustamante, Paco Carneiro, Ana P.B. Bearhop, Stuart Cherel, Yves Mariano-Jelicich, Rocío McGill, Rona A.R. Montalti, Diego Votier, Stephen C. Phillips, Richard A. Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean |
author_facet |
Mills, William F. Ibañez, Andrés E. Bustamante, Paco Carneiro, Ana P.B. Bearhop, Stuart Cherel, Yves Mariano-Jelicich, Rocío McGill, Rona A.R. Montalti, Diego Votier, Stephen C. Phillips, Richard A. |
author_sort |
Mills, William F. |
title |
Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean |
title_short |
Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean |
title_full |
Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean |
title_fullStr |
Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean |
title_sort |
spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the southern ocean |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/531763/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749122000550 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-45.500,-45.500,-60.583,-60.583) ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) ENVELOPE(-45.595,-45.595,-60.708,-60.708) ENVELOPE(-56.983,-56.983,-63.400,-63.400) ENVELOPE(-57.038,-57.038,-63.403,-63.403) ENVELOPE(-57.000,-57.000,-63.400,-63.400) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula South Orkney Islands Bird Island Signy Island Esperanza Hope Bay bahía Esperanza |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean The Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula South Orkney Islands Bird Island Signy Island Esperanza Hope Bay bahía Esperanza |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula antarcticus Bird Island Signy Island South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Stercorarius antarcticus |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Peninsula antarcticus Bird Island Signy Island South Orkney Islands Southern Ocean Stercorarius antarcticus |
op_relation |
Mills, William F. orcid:0000-0001-7170-5794 Ibañez, Andrés E.; Bustamante, Paco; Carneiro, Ana P.B.; Bearhop, Stuart; Cherel, Yves; Mariano-Jelicich, Rocío; McGill, Rona A.R.; Montalti, Diego; Votier, Stephen C.; Phillips, Richard A. 2022 Spatial and sex differences in mercury contamination of skuas in the Southern Ocean. Environmental Pollution, 297, 118841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118841 <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118841> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.118841 |
container_title |
Environmental Pollution |
container_volume |
297 |
container_start_page |
118841 |
_version_ |
1766157730168438784 |