Mercury Exposure in Birds of Prey from Norway: Relation to Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotope Signatures in Body Feathers.

• Published in: Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology
• Main Authors: Gómez-Ramírez, Pilar, Bustnes, Jan Ove, Eulaers, Igor, Johnsen, Trond Vidar, Lepoint, Gilles, Pérez-García, Juan Manuel, García-Fernández, Antonio Juan, Espín, Silvia, Jaspers, Veerle Leontina Bernard
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 2023
• Subjects: Biomonitoring; Erythrocytes; Feather; Metals; Red blood cells; Environmental Pollutants; Mercury; Animals; Environmental Monitoring; Feathers/chemistry; Norway; Environmental Pollutants/analysis; Eagles; Mercury/analysis; Birds of prey; Dry weight; Erythrocyte; Hg concentrations; Isotope signatures; Mercury exposure; Red blood cell; Stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes; Toxicology; Pollution; Health; Toxicology and Mutagenesis; General Medicine; Life sciences; Environmental sciences & ecology; Zoology; Sciences du vivant; Sciences de l’environnement & écologie; Zoologie; Accipiter gentilis; Haliaeetus albicilla
• Online Access: https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/306044; https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/306044/1/Mercury-Exposure-in-Birds-of-Prey-from-Norway-Relation-to-Stable-Carbon-and-Nitrogen-Isotope-Signatures-in-Body-FeathersBulletin-of-Environmental-Contamination-and-Toxicology.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-023-03740-6

peer reviewed Mercury (Hg) and stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were analysed in body feathers from nestlings of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) (WTE; n = 13) and Northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) (NG; n = 8) and in red blood cells (RBC) from NG (n = 11) from Norway. According to linear mixed model, species factor was significant in explaining the Hg concentration in feathers (LMM; p < 0.001, estimate (WTE) = 2.51, 95% CI = 1.26, 3.76), with concentrations higher in WTE (3.01 ± 1.34 µg g-1 dry weight) than in NG (0.51 ± 0.34 µg g-1 dry weight). This difference and the isotopic patterns for each species, likely reflect their diet, as WTE predominantly feed on a marine and higher trophic-chain diet compared to the terrestrial NG. In addition, Hg concentrations in RBCs of NG nestlings were positively correlated with feather Hg concentrations (Rho = 0.77, p = 0.03), supporting the potential usefulness of nestling body feathers to biomonitor and estimate Hg exposure. Hg levels in both species were generally below the commonly applied toxicity threshold of 5 µg g-1 in feathers, although exceeded in two WTE (6.08 and 5.19 µg g-1 dry weight).