Body feather mercury and arsenic concentrations in five species of seabirds from the Falkland Islands

Furtado, Ricardo; Pereira, Manuela; Granadeiro, José Pedro; Catry, Paulo

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.110574

Cited by 17 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…1.2 ± 0.7 (0.6-2.2) 5 0.9 ± 0.9 (0.4-4.0) 15 F 1,34 = 2.93, p = 0.10 F 1,34 = 1.55, p = 0.22 Thompson (1992) reported the same groups of prey for albatrosses from Beauchene Island, which again concurs with a high overlap in feeding areas and similar levels of contamination. Furtado et al (2019) reported no significant differences in mercury levels in feathers of black-browed albatross between New Island and Beauchene Island. In the ocean, arsenic, cadmium, copper, mercury, selenium, and strontium occur in lower concentrations at the surface (< 100 m) than in deeper waters (Westerlund and Ghman 1991;Cutter and Cutter 1995;de Villiers 1999;Cutter et al 2001;Heller and Croot 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Contamination by trace elements is growing at a fast pace and is an issue of major concern for the health of the environment and organisms (Scheuhammer 1987;Sánchez-Virosta et al 2015;Evers 2018;Preeti et al 2018). Plants and animals often assimilate and bioaccumulate trace elements in a predictable manner, and therefore, some taxa have been successfully used as biological monitors of elemental pollution in marine and terrestrial ecosystems (Anderson et al 2010;Yildirim and Sasmaz 2017;Furtado et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, elements such as cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese, strontium, and vanadium are accumulated by organisms of different trophic levels, but do not biomagnify (even in top predators, such as seabirds) because biodilution processes increase significantly with trophic position (Campbell et al 2005;Nfon et al 2009;Revenga et al 2012;Konovalenko et al 2016;Liu et al 2016Liu et al , 2017Liu et al , 2019Signa et al 2019). Conversely, the extent of arsenic and selenium biomagnification through the food web is a complex issue and is still a matter of scientific debate (Campbell et al 2005;Mathews and Fisher 2008;Nfon et al 2009;Stewart et al 2010;Huang 2016;Furtado et al 2019). Selenium is transferred in food chains, and biomagnification does occur (Rainbow 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Falkland Islands are located in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean, where the level of trace elements bioavailability is poorly documented (Furtado et al 2019). Black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands mostly forage in the Subantarctic Zone, over the rich waters of the Patagonian Shelf (Granadeiro et al 2017;Ponchon et al 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Trace elements’ reference levels in blood of breeding black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands

Furtado

Granadeiro

Campioni

et al. 2020

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Trace elements' concentration in the ocean is fast growing and is a source of major concern. Being charismatic and at the top of food chains, seabirds are often used as biological monitors of contaminants. We studied the concentration of trace elements in blood of black-browed albatross from the Falklands Islands, which we here show, by tracking with geolocators, forage over most of the Patagonian Shelf. Levels of trace elements were measured in males and females from two different islands. Blood concentrations of trace elements were not significantly different between islands, which is consistent with observations from foraging behavior revealing that birds from both islands foraged in broadly the same areas in the months before sampling. Arsenic and selenium concentrations in females were higher than in males. Sex-related differences in the concentration of these elements may be related to unknown slight differences in diet or to differences in assimilation between sexes. These results provide reference values for monitoring elemental contamination in the Patagonian Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem using black-browed albatrosses, one of the most abundant top predators and a suitable sentinel for the region's environmental health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Trace elements’ reference levels in blood of breeding black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands

Furtado

Granadeiro

Campioni

et al. 2020

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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“…Samples (weighing 3− 17 mg) were analysed using thermal decomposition atomic absorption spectrometry alongside gold amalgamation in LECO AMA-254 equipment. A maximum coefficient of variation of 10% was defined for a minimum of 2 mercury readings (Furtado et al, 2019). Tort-2 and Tort-3 were used as the certified reference material to support the precision of the method (muscle tissue, certified value of 0.27 ± 0.06 mg kg − 1 and 0.292 ± 0.22 mg kg − 1 , respectively).…”

Section: Baitmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tunas off northwest Africa: The epipelagic diet of The Bigeye and Skipjack tunas

et al. 2021

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Tunas are among the most exploited top predators worldwide, with negative impacts on some of their stocks. Changes in their population abundance can impact marine food-webs and have the potential to alter entire ecosystems. To better understand the impacts of the exploitation of tuna stocks in the most critical habitats, basic knowledge on the diet of these species in each region is required. Here, we describe the diet of the two most fished tuna species in the archipelago of Madeira, the Bigeye tuna Thunnus obesus and the Skipjack tuna Katsuwonus pelamis, based on stomach contents analysis. To gain further insights into the diet, and also better assess the possible bias caused by the occurrence of live bait in stomachs, we compared tuna mercury values with those of two other predators with similar diets that are not directly targeted by fisheries, and with Bigeye and Skipjack tunas from other ocean basins. Bigeye tunas fed mostly on Atlantic chub mackerel Scomber colias and mackerel Trachurus sp., which together contributed with 85% of total prey weight. Only 7.5% of prey weight was constituted by mesopelagic prey, including myctophids and cephalopods. Skipjack tunas had an epipelagic diet (NF = 97%), with the Atlantic chub mackerel representing half of the total prey weight, despite Longspine snipefish Macroramphosus scolopax and Sand smelt Atherina sp. accounting for 62.9% of the total number of prey. There were interannual variations in diet likely linked to interannual pelagic community shifts. Bait did not bias the results of the stomach analysis of these tunas and bait species were observed to be part of the natural diet of both tuna species. Baseline data provided by this study should allow for more informed decisions for an efficient ecosystem-based fisheries management.

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Revealing the foraging movements and diet of the White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina in the NE Atlantic

et al. 2022

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The White-faced Storm Petrel (WFSP) Pelagodroma marina has a widespread distribution, although virtually nothing is known about their feeding ecology and distributions at-sea. To describe their foraging areas, a total of 77 birds were equipped with 1 g-GPS loggers on Selvagem Grande, Madeira, Portugal (30° 09′ N, 15° 52′ W), during the 2018 and 2019 breeding seasons. We also assessed the diet of WFSP by analysing 17 faecal samples from chicks and 1 regurgitation from an adult using DNA metabarcoding techniques. Additionally, we collected body feathers from ten WFSP chicks to determine mercury concentration. WFSP fed mainly in deep oceanic waters, travelling up to 400 km from the colony, and did not concentrate in any well-defined, population-level foraging hotspots. Some individuals foraged along the edge of the shelf, near the African coast and the Canary Islands, especially during chick rearing. The duration of foraging trips and the total distance travelled, were, on average, 5.1 days and 723 km during the incubation period and 3.0 days and 578 km during chick rearing. The diet of WFSP was dominated by fish and cephalopods (crustacean prey were not detected), with Myctophidae (FO = 71%) representing the main fish family. WFSP often consume mesopelagic fish, in line with their preference for deep oceanic waters and with a small difference in at sea behavior (i.e., travel speed) between the diurnal and nocturnal period. The relatively high concentrations of mercury accumulated in body feathers of WFSP chicks (3.45 ± 1.44 mg kg −1 dry weight; range 1.68-6.01 mg kg −1 ) support the idea that WFSP raise their chicks mostly on mesopelagic prey from deep pelagic areas.

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Body feather mercury and arsenic concentrations in five species of seabirds from the Falkland Islands

Cited by 17 publications

References 78 publications

Trace elements’ reference levels in blood of breeding black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands

Trace elements’ reference levels in blood of breeding black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands

Tunas off northwest Africa: The epipelagic diet of The Bigeye and Skipjack tunas

Revealing the foraging movements and diet of the White-faced Storm Petrel Pelagodroma marina in the NE Atlantic

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