Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis)
There remains great concern over mercury pollution in the Arctic, though relatively little is known about impacts on biota that inhabit Arctic terrestrial systems. To help address this, the current study was performed with barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) from a coal mine-impacted site and a con...
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Online Access: | https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mercury-associated-neurochemical-response-in-arctic-barnacle-gosl https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.191 |
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ftunivwagenin:oai:library.wur.nl:wurpubs/531361 2024-01-14T10:02:54+01:00 Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) van den Brink, Nico W. Scheiber, Isabella B.R. de Jong, Margje E. Braun, Anna Arini, Adeline Basu, Niladri van den Berg, Hans Komdeur, Jan Loonen, Maarten J.J.E. 2018 application/pdf https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mercury-associated-neurochemical-response-in-arctic-barnacle-gosl https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.191 en eng https://edepot.wur.nl/430549 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mercury-associated-neurochemical-response-in-arctic-barnacle-gosl doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.191 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Wageningen University & Research Science of the Total Environment 624 (2018) ISSN: 0048-9697 Exposure and effect Neurotoxicity Polar Terrestrial Tundra info:eu-repo/semantics/article Article/Letter to editor info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2018 ftunivwagenin https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.191 2023-12-20T23:16:47Z There remains great concern over mercury pollution in the Arctic, though relatively little is known about impacts on biota that inhabit Arctic terrestrial systems. To help address this, the current study was performed with barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) from a coal mine-impacted site and a control site near Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen (Svalbard). The works focused mainly on mercury, as coal contains trace levels of this element. Total mercury concentrations were quantified in soil and vegetation from the two sites, as well as feces and liver from the goslings. Next, the mercury exposures were related to dopamine 2 (D2)- and NMDA-receptors in the brain, given that mercury is a proven neurotoxicant. Soil and vegetation in the mining area contained mercury levels that were approximately 3- and 2.2-times higher than in the control site. Despite a significant difference between the sites, the soil and vegetation mercury levels where were within ranges found at other Arctic locations. Goslings grazing in the mine-impacted area contained significantly higher hepatic mercury levels than those sampled from the control site. Compared to other species, the hepatic concentrations were relatively low possibly due to dilution of the mercury in growing goslings (growth dilution) and deposition of mercury in the growing feathers. Hepatic mercury concentrations were positively related to D2-neuroreceptor levels but not to NMDA-receptor levels thus suggesting a possible subtle neurological effect. To our knowledge, this is among the first studies on mercury exposure in Arctic terrestrial organisms, and one of the first to document potential subtle neurological responses associated with exposure to low, environmentally relevant mercury levels, which also can be found at other locations in the Arctic. However, as a pilot effort, the results here need to be examined in additional studies that include, for example, lager study designs, different geographic sites and other terrestrial species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Branta leucopsis Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Tundra Spitsbergen Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Science of The Total Environment 624 1052 1058 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wageningen UR (University & Research Centre): Digital Library |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwagenin |
language |
English |
topic |
Exposure and effect Neurotoxicity Polar Terrestrial Tundra |
spellingShingle |
Exposure and effect Neurotoxicity Polar Terrestrial Tundra van den Brink, Nico W. Scheiber, Isabella B.R. de Jong, Margje E. Braun, Anna Arini, Adeline Basu, Niladri van den Berg, Hans Komdeur, Jan Loonen, Maarten J.J.E. Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) |
topic_facet |
Exposure and effect Neurotoxicity Polar Terrestrial Tundra |
description |
There remains great concern over mercury pollution in the Arctic, though relatively little is known about impacts on biota that inhabit Arctic terrestrial systems. To help address this, the current study was performed with barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) from a coal mine-impacted site and a control site near Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen (Svalbard). The works focused mainly on mercury, as coal contains trace levels of this element. Total mercury concentrations were quantified in soil and vegetation from the two sites, as well as feces and liver from the goslings. Next, the mercury exposures were related to dopamine 2 (D2)- and NMDA-receptors in the brain, given that mercury is a proven neurotoxicant. Soil and vegetation in the mining area contained mercury levels that were approximately 3- and 2.2-times higher than in the control site. Despite a significant difference between the sites, the soil and vegetation mercury levels where were within ranges found at other Arctic locations. Goslings grazing in the mine-impacted area contained significantly higher hepatic mercury levels than those sampled from the control site. Compared to other species, the hepatic concentrations were relatively low possibly due to dilution of the mercury in growing goslings (growth dilution) and deposition of mercury in the growing feathers. Hepatic mercury concentrations were positively related to D2-neuroreceptor levels but not to NMDA-receptor levels thus suggesting a possible subtle neurological effect. To our knowledge, this is among the first studies on mercury exposure in Arctic terrestrial organisms, and one of the first to document potential subtle neurological responses associated with exposure to low, environmentally relevant mercury levels, which also can be found at other locations in the Arctic. However, as a pilot effort, the results here need to be examined in additional studies that include, for example, lager study designs, different geographic sites and other terrestrial species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
van den Brink, Nico W. Scheiber, Isabella B.R. de Jong, Margje E. Braun, Anna Arini, Adeline Basu, Niladri van den Berg, Hans Komdeur, Jan Loonen, Maarten J.J.E. |
author_facet |
van den Brink, Nico W. Scheiber, Isabella B.R. de Jong, Margje E. Braun, Anna Arini, Adeline Basu, Niladri van den Berg, Hans Komdeur, Jan Loonen, Maarten J.J.E. |
author_sort |
van den Brink, Nico W. |
title |
Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) |
title_short |
Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) |
title_full |
Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) |
title_fullStr |
Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury associated neurochemical response in Arctic barnacle goslings (Branta leucopsis) |
title_sort |
mercury associated neurochemical response in arctic barnacle goslings (branta leucopsis) |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mercury-associated-neurochemical-response-in-arctic-barnacle-gosl https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.191 |
geographic |
Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Ny-Ålesund Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Branta leucopsis Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Tundra Spitsbergen |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Branta leucopsis Ny Ålesund Ny-Ålesund Svalbard Tundra Spitsbergen |
op_source |
Science of the Total Environment 624 (2018) ISSN: 0048-9697 |
op_relation |
https://edepot.wur.nl/430549 https://research.wur.nl/en/publications/mercury-associated-neurochemical-response-in-arctic-barnacle-gosl doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.191 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Wageningen University & Research |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.12.191 |
container_title |
Science of The Total Environment |
container_volume |
624 |
container_start_page |
1052 |
op_container_end_page |
1058 |
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1788058001390698496 |