Mercury contamination and potential health risks to Arctic seabirds and shorebirds

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: Chastel, Olivier, Fort, Jérôme, Ackerman, Joshua, T, Albert, Céline, Angelier, Frédéric, Basu, Niladri, Blévin, Pierre, Brault-Favrou, Maud, Bustnes, Jan, Ove, Bustamante, Paco, Danielsen, Jóhannis, Descamps, Sébastien, Dietz, Rune, Erikstad, Kjell, Einar, Eulaers, Igor, Ezhov, Alexey, Fleishman, Abram, B, Gabrielsen, Geir, W, Gavrilo, Maria, Gilchrist, Grant, Gilg, Olivier, Gíslason, Sindri, Golubova, Elena, Goutte, Aurélie, Grémillet, David, Hallgrimsson, Gunnar, T, Hansen, Erpur, S, Hanssen, Sveinn, Are, Hatch, Scott, Huffeldt, Nicholas, P, Jakubas, Dariusz, Jónsson, Jón, Einar, Kitaysky, Alexander, S, Kolbeinsson, Yann, Krasnov, Yuri, Letcher, Robert, J, Linnebjerg, Jannie, F, Mallory, Mark, Merkel, Flemming, Ravn, Moe, Børge, Montevecchi, William, J, Mosbech, Anders, Olsen, Bergur, Orben, Rachael, A, Provencher, Jennifer, F, Ragnarsdottir, Sunna, B, Reiertsen, Tone, K, Rojek, Nora, Romano, Marc, Søndergaard, Jens, Strøm, Hallvard, Takahashi, Akinori, Tartu, Sabrina, Thórarinsson, Thorkell, L, Thiebot, Jean-Baptiste, Will, Alexis, P, Wilson, Simon, Wojczulanis-Jakubas, Katarzyna, Yannic, Glenn
• Other Authors: Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche (M.E.N.E.S.R.), Laboratoire Chrono-environnement (UMR 6249) (LCE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC), Milieux Environnementaux, Transferts et Interactions dans les hydrosystèmes et les Sols (METIS), École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro Montpellier, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Laboratoire d'Ecologie Alpine (LECA ), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: Mercury; Arctic; Birds; Toxicity benchmarks; Toxicological effects; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; AMAP; Arctic birds; Climate change
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04254118; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156944

International audience Since the last Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) effort to review biological effects of mercury (Hg) on Arctic biota in 2011 and 2018, there has been a considerable number of new Arctic bird studies. This review article provides contemporary Hg exposure and potential health risk for 36 Arctic seabird and shorebird species, representing a larger portion of the Arctic than during previous AMAP assessments now also including parts of the Russian Arctic. To assess risk to birds, we used Hg toxicity benchmarks established for blood and converted to egg, liver, and feather tissues. Several Arctic seabird populations showed Hg concentrations that exceeded toxicity benchmarks, with 50 % of individual birds exceeding the “no adverse health effect” level. In particular, 5 % of all studied birds were considered to be at moderate or higher risk to Hg toxicity. However, most seabirds (95 %) were generally at lower risk to Hg toxicity. The highest Hg contamination was observed in seabirds breeding in the western Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Most Arctic shorebirds exhibited low Hg concentrations, with approximately 45 % of individuals categorized at no risk, 2.5 % at high risk category, and no individual at severe risk. Although the majority Arctic-breeding seabirds and shorebirds appeared at lower risk to Hg toxicity, recent studies have reported deleterious effects of Hg on some pituitary hormones, genotoxicity, and reproductive performance. Adult survival appeared unaffected by Hg exposure, although long-term banding studies incorporating Hg are still limited. Although Hg contamination across the Arctic is considered low for most bird species, Hg in combination with other stressors, including other contaminants, diseases, parasites, and climate change, may still cause adverse effects. Future investigations on the global impact of Hg on Arctic birds should be conducted within a multi-stressor framework. This information helps to address Article 22 (Effectiveness Evaluation) of the ...