Mercury in the ecosystem of Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica: Occurrence and trophic distribution

• Published in: Marine Pollution Bulletin
• Main Authors: Cipro, Caio, Montone, Rosalinda, Bustamante, Paco
• Other Authors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Instituto Oceanográfico, Universidade de São Paulo = University of São Paulo (USP)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: mercury; Antarctica; stable isotopes; food web; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; Admiralty Bay; Antarctic; King George Island; Antarc*; Antarctic Fur Seal; Antarctic Krill
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01431477; https://hal.science/hal-01431477/document; https://hal.science/hal-01431477/file/Cipro%20et%20al%202017%20MPB.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.09.024

International audience Mercury (Hg) can reach the environment through natural and human-related sources, threatening ecosystems all over the planet due to its well-known deleterious effects. Therefore, Antarctic trophic webs, despite being relatively isolated, are not exempt of its influence. To evaluate Hg concentrations in an Antarctic ecosystem, different tissues from 2 species of invertebrates, 2 of fish, 8 of birds, 4 of pinnipeds and at least 5 of vegetation were investigated (n=176). For animals, values ranged from 0.018 to 48.7 μg g−1 dw (whole Antarctic krill and Antarctic Fur Seal liver). They were generally correlated to trophic position (assessed by δ15N and δ13C) but also to cephalopods and myctophids consumption. For vegetation, values ranged from 0.014 to 0.227 μg g−1 dw (Colobanthus quitensis and an unidentified lichen), with lichens presenting significantly higher values than mosses, likely due to year-round exposure and absorption of animal derived organic matter, as hypothesized by literature.