Regional, temporal, and species patterns of mercury in Alaskan seabird eggs: Mercury sources and cycling or food web effects?

cited By 13 International audience Mercury concentration ([Hg]), δ15N, and δ13C values were measured in eggs from common murres (Uria aalge), thick-billed murres (U. lomvia), glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), and glaucous-winged gulls (L. glaucescens) collected in Alaska from 1999 to 2005. [Hg] wa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Pollution
Main Authors: Day, R.D., Roseneau, D.G., Vander Pol, S.S., Hobson, K.A., Donard, Olivier François Xavier, Pugh, R.S., Moors, A.J., Becker, P.R.
Other Authors: Institut des sciences analytiques et de physico-chimie pour l'environnement et les materiaux (IPREM), Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour (UPPA)-Institut de Chimie - CNRS Chimie (INC-CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2012
Subjects:
[CHIM.ANAL]Chemical Sciences/Analytical chemistry
Yukon
Bering Sea
Bering Strait
Gulf of Alaska
Norton Sound
Larus hyperboreus
Seward Peninsula
Uria aalge
Yukon river
Alaska
uria
Online Access:https://hal.science/hal-01590294
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2012.03.004
Description
Summary:cited By 13 International audience Mercury concentration ([Hg]), δ15N, and δ13C values were measured in eggs from common murres (Uria aalge), thick-billed murres (U. lomvia), glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), and glaucous-winged gulls (L. glaucescens) collected in Alaska from 1999 to 2005. [Hg] was normalized to a common trophic level using egg δ15N values and published Hg trophic magnification factors. Egg [Hg] was higher in murres from Gulf of Alaska, Cook Inlet, and Norton Sound regions compared to Bering Sea and Bering Strait regions, independent of trophic level. We believe the Yukon River outflow and terrestrial Hg sources on the southern Seward Peninsula are responsible for the elevated [Hg] in Norton Sound eggs. Normalizing for trophic level generally diminished or eliminated differences in [Hg] among taxa, but temporal variability was unrelated to trophic level. Normalizing murre egg [Hg] by trophic level improves the confidence in regional comparisons of Hg sources and biogeochemical cycling in Alaska. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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