Mercury concentrations in feathers of marine birds in Arctic Canada

Mallory, Mark L.; Braune, Birgit M.; Provencher, Jennifer F.; Callaghan, Daniel B.; Gilchrist, H. Grant; Edmonds, Samuel T.; Allard, Karel A.; O’Driscoll, Nelson J.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.06.043

Cited by 33 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Hence, the present study clearly indicates that these eiders breed and moult at different locations, which expose them to seasonally variable loads of toxic elements. It should also be noted that the Hg concentrations in the body feathers of the present eiders (Baltic: 0.3 -1.7 µg/g, Svalbard: 0.5 -1.9 µg/g) were somewhat higher than reported in primary feathers of eiders from the Canadian Arctic (0.24 -0.95 µg/kg) (Mallory et al, 2015). Although this difference may be due to the different feather-types analysed, it may indicate that eiders from the Canadian Arctic winter in regions with less bioavailable Hg than the Svalbard and Baltic eiders.…”

contrasting

confidence: 58%

Blood and feather concentrations of toxic elements in a Baltic and an Arctic seabird population

Fenstad

Bustnes

Lierhagen

et al. 2017

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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We report blood and feather concentrations of elements in the Baltic Sea and Arctic population of common eiders (Somateria mollissima). The endangered Baltic Sea population of eiders was demonstrably affected by element pollution in the 1990s. While blood concentrations of Hg were higher in Baltic breeding eiders, blood Se, As and Cd concentrations were higher in Arctic eiders. Blood concentrations of Pb, Cr, Zn and Cu did not differ between the two populations. While blood Pb concentrations had declined in Baltic eiders since the 1990s, Hg concentrations had not declined, and were above concentrations associated with adverse oxidative effects in other bird species. Inconsistent with blood concentrations, feather concentrations suggested that Pb, Zn, and Cd exposure was higher in Baltic eiders, and that Hg exposure was higher in Arctic eiders. Our study thus emphasizes the need for comprehensive evaluation of toxic element status, covering the annual cycle of a species.

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contrasting

confidence: 58%

Blood and feather concentrations of toxic elements in a Baltic and an Arctic seabird population

Fenstad

Bustnes

Lierhagen

et al. 2017

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…Mercury is mainly accumulated as MeHg in feathers (Thompson and Furness 1989). Mallory et al (2015) found that MeHg averaged 67-81 % of the total Hg in ivory gull feathers from the Canadian Arctic. Overall, these results suggest that Hg concentrations may be sufficiently elevated to trigger sublethal effects and/or reproduction impairments and consequently contribute to the population decline (Burgess and Meyer 2008;Bond et al 2015).…”

Section: Trace Element Concentrations and Toxicology Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

Trace Element Concentrations in Relation to the Trophic Behaviour of Endangered Ivory Gulls (Pagophila eburnea) During Their Stay at a Breeding Site in Svalbard

Lucia

Strøm

Bustamante

et al. 2016

Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

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The ivory gull is a high-Arctic species considered endangered in most parts of its breeding range. Ivory gulls must cope with both the reduction of sea ice cover triggered by climate change and increasing contaminant loads due to changes in global contaminant pathways. The objective of this study was to assess the concentration of 14 essential and nonessential trace elements at four colonies of ivory gulls breeding on Barentsøya, Svalbard, and the relationship between contaminant exposure and the diet of individuals. Contaminants and stable isotopes (δN, δC) were determined in blood (red blood cells and whole blood), and feathers of ivory gulls collected over several years. The most quantitatively abundant nonessential trace element found in the ivory gull was mercury (Hg). Selenium (Se) was present in substantial surplus compared with Hg, which would imply relative protection against Hg toxic effects but raises concern about Se potential toxicity. Moreover, other elements were detected, such as silver, arsenic, cadmium, and lead, which would warrant monitoring because of the potential additive/synergetic effects of these compounds. This study demonstrated individual differences in trophic behaviour that triggered discrepancies in Hg concentrations, highlighting the potential biomagnifying ability of this metal in the ivory gull's food web. Results highlighted the mixing of birds coming from different geographical areas on Barentsøya.

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“…This procedure has been widely used by studies of Hg speciation in feathers [19,20,22,[29][30][31]. More developed analytical techniques were later performed by using gas chromatography in order to separate Hg species: gas chromatography coupled to atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (GC-AFS) [32,33]; gas chromatography coupled to electron-capture detector (GC-ECD) [34], and single isotope dilution analysis by gas chromatography coupled to ICP-MS (S-IDA-GC-ICPMS) with single isotope spike (only isotopically labelled MeHg was added) [26]. However, these analytical techniques do not allow correcting possible losses or transformations between Hg species and provide uniquely the quantification of MeHg and THg concentrations, so the determination of iHg concentrations needs to be calculated as the difference between both compounds' concentrations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of mercury speciation in feathers using species-specific isotope dilution analysis

Renedo

Bustamante

Tessier

et al. 2017

Talanta

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Seabirds are considered as effective sentinels of environmental marine contamination and their feathers are extensively used as non-lethal samples for contaminant biomonitoring. This tissue represents the main route for mercury (Hg) elimination in seabirds and contains predominantly methylmercury (MeHg). In this work, we developed a robust analytical technique for precise and accurate simultaneous quantification of MeHg, inorganic Hg (iHg) and consequently total Hg (THg), in feathers by gas-chromatography (GC)-ICPMS analyses using species-specific isotope dilution technique. An optimisation of the extraction method was carried out by testing different extraction systems, reagents and spiking procedures using an internal reference feather sample. The procedure was validated for MeHg and THg concentrations with a human hair certified reference material. Microwave nitric acid extraction with spike addition before the extraction provided the best recovery and was chosen as the most appropriate species simultaneous extraction method (SSE). An additional assessment was performed by comparison of our developed extraction method and a MeHg specific extraction technique (MSE) classically used for Hg speciation studies on feathers. The developed method was applied to feather samples from a large number of seabirds from the Southern Ocean (penguins, albatrosses, petrels and skuas) to investigate the variability of Hg speciation across a large range of Hg exposure conditions and concentrations. In all cases, MeHg accounted for > 90% of THg, thus verifying the predominance of organic Hg over iHg in feathers.

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Mercury concentrations in feathers of marine birds in Arctic Canada

Cited by 33 publications

References 54 publications

Blood and feather concentrations of toxic elements in a Baltic and an Arctic seabird population

Blood and feather concentrations of toxic elements in a Baltic and an Arctic seabird population

Trace Element Concentrations in Relation to the Trophic Behaviour of Endangered Ivory Gulls (Pagophila eburnea) During Their Stay at a Breeding Site in Svalbard

Assessment of mercury speciation in feathers using species-specific isotope dilution analysis

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