Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record
Mercury (Hg) is increasing in marine food webs, especially at high latitudes. The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of methyl mercury (MeHg) has serious effects on wildlife, and is most evident in apex predators. The MeHg body burden in birds is the balance of ingestion and excretion, and MeHg in...
Published in: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Text |
Language: | English |
Published: |
The Royal Society
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389618/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25788594 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
id |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:4389618 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:4389618 2023-05-15T14:52:34+02:00 Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record Bond, Alexander L. Hobson, Keith A. Branfireun, Brian A. 2015-04-22 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389618/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25788594 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389618/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25788594 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Research Articles Text 2015 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 2016-04-24T00:00:24Z Mercury (Hg) is increasing in marine food webs, especially at high latitudes. The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of methyl mercury (MeHg) has serious effects on wildlife, and is most evident in apex predators. The MeHg body burden in birds is the balance of ingestion and excretion, and MeHg in feathers is an effective indicator of overall MeHg burden. Ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea), which consume ice-associated prey and scavenge marine mammal carcasses, have the highest egg Hg concentrations of any Arctic bird, and the species has declined by more than 80% since the 1980s in Canada. We used feathers from museum specimens from the Canadian Arctic and western Greenland to assess whether exposure to MeHg by ivory gulls increased from 1877 to 2007. Based on constant feather stable-isotope (δ13C, δ15N) values, there was no significant change in ivory gulls' diet over this period, but feather MeHg concentrations increased 45× (from 0.09 to 4.11 µg g−1 in adults). This dramatic change in the absence of a dietary shift is clear evidence of the impact of anthropogenic Hg on this high-latitude threatened species. Bioavailable Hg is expected to increase in the Arctic, raising concern for continued population declines in high-latitude species that are far from sources of environmental contaminants. Text Arctic Greenland ivory gull Pagophila eburnea PubMed Central (PMC) Arctic Canada Greenland Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282 1805 20150032 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
PubMed Central (PMC) |
op_collection_id |
ftpubmed |
language |
English |
topic |
Research Articles |
spellingShingle |
Research Articles Bond, Alexander L. Hobson, Keith A. Branfireun, Brian A. Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
topic_facet |
Research Articles |
description |
Mercury (Hg) is increasing in marine food webs, especially at high latitudes. The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of methyl mercury (MeHg) has serious effects on wildlife, and is most evident in apex predators. The MeHg body burden in birds is the balance of ingestion and excretion, and MeHg in feathers is an effective indicator of overall MeHg burden. Ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea), which consume ice-associated prey and scavenge marine mammal carcasses, have the highest egg Hg concentrations of any Arctic bird, and the species has declined by more than 80% since the 1980s in Canada. We used feathers from museum specimens from the Canadian Arctic and western Greenland to assess whether exposure to MeHg by ivory gulls increased from 1877 to 2007. Based on constant feather stable-isotope (δ13C, δ15N) values, there was no significant change in ivory gulls' diet over this period, but feather MeHg concentrations increased 45× (from 0.09 to 4.11 µg g−1 in adults). This dramatic change in the absence of a dietary shift is clear evidence of the impact of anthropogenic Hg on this high-latitude threatened species. Bioavailable Hg is expected to increase in the Arctic, raising concern for continued population declines in high-latitude species that are far from sources of environmental contaminants. |
format |
Text |
author |
Bond, Alexander L. Hobson, Keith A. Branfireun, Brian A. |
author_facet |
Bond, Alexander L. Hobson, Keith A. Branfireun, Brian A. |
author_sort |
Bond, Alexander L. |
title |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_short |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_full |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_fullStr |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (Pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
title_sort |
rapidly increasing methyl mercury in endangered ivory gull (pagophila eburnea) feathers over a 130 year record |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389618/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25788594 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Greenland |
genre |
Arctic Greenland ivory gull Pagophila eburnea |
genre_facet |
Arctic Greenland ivory gull Pagophila eburnea |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4389618/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25788594 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
op_rights |
© 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.0032 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
282 |
container_issue |
1805 |
container_start_page |
20150032 |
_version_ |
1766323796924432384 |