Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age
We studied the mercury contamination of 13 species of seabirds breeding on Bird Island, South Georgia, in 1998. Total mercury concentrations in body feather samples of birds caught at their breeding colonies were determined. Among the species, grey-headed albatross (8933 ng g-1) and southern giant p...
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ftubarcepubl:oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/61484 2024-02-11T09:57:18+01:00 Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age Becker, Peter H. González-Solís, Jacob Behrends, B. Croxall, J.P. 2002 9 p. application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/2445/61484 eng eng Inter-Research Reproducció del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps243261 Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2002, vol. 243, p. 261-269 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps243261 0171-8630 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/61484 503604 (c) Inter-Research, 2002 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Ocells marins Mercuri Ecologia animal Poblacions animals Antàrtic Oceà Sea birds Mercury Animal ecology Animal populations Antarctic Ocean info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2002 ftubarcepubl https://doi.org/10.3354/meps243261 2024-01-24T00:57:31Z We studied the mercury contamination of 13 species of seabirds breeding on Bird Island, South Georgia, in 1998. Total mercury concentrations in body feather samples of birds caught at their breeding colonies were determined. Among the species, grey-headed albatross (8933 ng g-1) and southern giant petrel (7774 ng g-1) showed the highest, and gentoo penguin (948 ng g-1) the lowest body feather mercury concentrations. Mercury levels were negatively correlated with the proportion of crustaceans (mainly krill) in the species¹ diets, suggesting that the trophic level is the most important factor in explaining the variation of mercury concentrations in Antarctic seabirds. In 4 species studied for age effects among adult birds (grey-headed and black-browed albatross, northern and southern giant petrel), no age-dependent variation in mercury levels was found. Sex differences were also assessed: female gentoo penguins had lower mercury levels than males, which may be related to the elimination of part of the mercury body burden by females into eggs. In contrast, northern giant petrel males had lower levels than females, which may be related to a higher consumption by males of carrion from Antarctic fur seals. In grey-headed albatrosses, mercury levels were 113% higher than in 1989, when this species was investigated at the same site, indicating a possible increase in mercury pollution of the Southern Ocean during the last decade. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Antarctic Ocean Bird Island Gentoo penguin Giant Petrel Southern Ocean Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona Antarctic Southern Ocean Antarctic Ocean Bird Island ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) Marine Ecology Progress Series 243 261 269 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Dipòsit Digital de la Universitat de Barcelona |
op_collection_id |
ftubarcepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Ocells marins Mercuri Ecologia animal Poblacions animals Antàrtic Oceà Sea birds Mercury Animal ecology Animal populations Antarctic Ocean |
spellingShingle |
Ocells marins Mercuri Ecologia animal Poblacions animals Antàrtic Oceà Sea birds Mercury Animal ecology Animal populations Antarctic Ocean Becker, Peter H. González-Solís, Jacob Behrends, B. Croxall, J.P. Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age |
topic_facet |
Ocells marins Mercuri Ecologia animal Poblacions animals Antàrtic Oceà Sea birds Mercury Animal ecology Animal populations Antarctic Ocean |
description |
We studied the mercury contamination of 13 species of seabirds breeding on Bird Island, South Georgia, in 1998. Total mercury concentrations in body feather samples of birds caught at their breeding colonies were determined. Among the species, grey-headed albatross (8933 ng g-1) and southern giant petrel (7774 ng g-1) showed the highest, and gentoo penguin (948 ng g-1) the lowest body feather mercury concentrations. Mercury levels were negatively correlated with the proportion of crustaceans (mainly krill) in the species¹ diets, suggesting that the trophic level is the most important factor in explaining the variation of mercury concentrations in Antarctic seabirds. In 4 species studied for age effects among adult birds (grey-headed and black-browed albatross, northern and southern giant petrel), no age-dependent variation in mercury levels was found. Sex differences were also assessed: female gentoo penguins had lower mercury levels than males, which may be related to the elimination of part of the mercury body burden by females into eggs. In contrast, northern giant petrel males had lower levels than females, which may be related to a higher consumption by males of carrion from Antarctic fur seals. In grey-headed albatrosses, mercury levels were 113% higher than in 1989, when this species was investigated at the same site, indicating a possible increase in mercury pollution of the Southern Ocean during the last decade. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Becker, Peter H. González-Solís, Jacob Behrends, B. Croxall, J.P. |
author_facet |
Becker, Peter H. González-Solís, Jacob Behrends, B. Croxall, J.P. |
author_sort |
Becker, Peter H. |
title |
Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age |
title_short |
Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age |
title_full |
Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age |
title_fullStr |
Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age |
title_full_unstemmed |
Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: Influences of trophic position, sex and age |
title_sort |
feather mercury levels in seabirds at south georgia: influences of trophic position, sex and age |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2002 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/2445/61484 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-38.060,-38.060,-54.004,-54.004) |
geographic |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Antarctic Ocean Bird Island |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic Southern Ocean Antarctic Ocean Bird Island |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Antarctic Ocean Bird Island Gentoo penguin Giant Petrel Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctic Fur Seals Antarctic Ocean Bird Island Gentoo penguin Giant Petrel Southern Ocean |
op_relation |
Reproducció del document publicat a: http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps243261 Marine Ecology Progress Series, 2002, vol. 243, p. 261-269 Articles publicats en revistes (Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals) http://dx.doi.org/10.3354/meps243261 0171-8630 http://hdl.handle.net/2445/61484 503604 |
op_rights |
(c) Inter-Research, 2002 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/meps243261 |
container_title |
Marine Ecology Progress Series |
container_volume |
243 |
container_start_page |
261 |
op_container_end_page |
269 |
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1790609601004044288 |