Mercury levels in eggs, tissues, and feathers of herring gulls Larus argentatus from the German Wadden Sea Coast

Lewis, S. A.; Becker, Peter; Furness, Robert W.

doi:10.1016/0269-7491(93)90051-o

Cited by 142 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Monteiro & Furness (2001b) argued that sex-related differences in physiology may be a cause of the inter-sex differences observed in the blood dose-response in Cory's shearwater Calonectris diomedea. However, many studies found no sexual differences in mercury burdens in internal tissues; in particular, body feather levels have been reported to be fairly independent of sex (red-billed gulls, Furness et al 1990; great skua, Thompson et al 1991; herring gulls Larus argentatus, Lewis et al 1993). Lower con-centrations of mercury in females are occasionally found (tissues of common murres Uria aalge, Stewart et al 1994; female Primary 1 of herring gulls, Lewis et al 1993; Primaries 1 to 5 of Bonaparte's gull, Braune & Gaskin 1987) as well as slightly lower concentrations in feathers compared to males, probably indicating an additional depletion of female body mercury burdens by the route of egg production (Becker 1992, Lewis et al 1993).…”

Section: Intraspecific Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(3) We investigated possible age effects on mercury levels in adult seabirds, which to date have not been detected by other studies (Furness et al 1990, Thompson et al 1991, 1993a. (4) Sex is known to affect mercury dynamics and levels in some tissues in seabirds, but to have no or only small effects on body feather mercury levels (Furness et al 1990, Thompson et al 1991, Lewis et al 1993, Monteiro & Furness 2001b. We studied possible sex effects in 2 species of penguins, macaroni Eudyptes chrysolophus and gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua, and in the 2 species of giant petrels, Macronectes halli and M. giganteus, characterised by sexual dimorphism (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: influence of trophic position, sex and age

Becker¹,

González‐Solís²,

Behrends³

et al. 2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

116

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We studied the mercury contamination of 13 species of seabirds breeding on Bird Island, South Georgia, in 1998. Total mercury concentrations in body feather samples of birds caught at their breeding colonies were determined. Among the species, grey-headed albatross (8933 ng g ) the lowest body feather mercury concentrations. Mercury levels were negatively correlated with the proportion of crustaceans (mainly krill) in the species' diets, suggesting that the trophic level is the most important factor in explaining the variation of mercury concentrations in Antarctic seabirds. In 4 species studied for age effects among adult birds (grey-headed and black-browed albatross, northern and southern giant petrel), no age-dependent variation in mercury levels was found. Sex differences were also assessed: female gentoo penguins had lower mercury levels than males, which may be related to the elimination of part of the mercury body burden by females into eggs. In contrast, northern giant petrel males had lower levels than females, which may be related to a higher consumption by males of carrion from Antarctic fur seals. In grey-headed albatrosses, mercury levels were 113% higher than in 1989, when this species was investigated at the same site, indicating a possible increase in mercury pollution of the Southern Ocean during the last decade.

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Section: Intraspecific Variabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: influence of trophic position, sex and age

Becker¹,

González‐Solís²,

Behrends³

et al. 2002

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

116

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“…In North America and Europe Herring Gulls have been widely used as bioindicator for chemical contamination of aquatic environments. Several studies have shown that the concentration of pollutants in their eggs reflect the female's contaminant load Lewis et al, 1993) and that of their habitats (Becker et al, 1985a(Becker et al, ,b, 1993aWeseloh et al, 1990;Koster et al, 1996). In comparison with the published values of Herring Gull egg contamination, the eggs of Kelp Gulls in Chile showed much lower levels of most chemicals investigated, except for mercury (Table 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

The Kelp Gull as bioindicator of environmental chemicals in the Magellan region. A comparison with other coastal sites in Chile

Muñoz

Becker

1999

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: During the breeding seasons 1994/5 and 1995/6 we collected Kelp Gull (Larus dominicanus) eggs from five locations in central to south Chile to study the contamination with mercury and organochlorine compounds. The sites were Algarrobo, Concepción, Maiquillahue Bay, Doña Sebastiana Island (Chalcao channel at Chiloé) and Magdalena Island (Straits of Magellan). We found differences among the sites: Kelp Gull eggs from Chiloé and Algarrobo had the greatest concentrations of mercury (about 170 ng g -1 fresh weight). Residues of DDT were greatest in eggs from Algarrobo and Maiquillahue Bay, those of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) greatest at Algarrobo and Concepción. HCB had highest levels at Concepción. Considering all organochlorines, samples from Algarrobo had the highest concentrations, those from Chiloé the lowest. In consequence we found a geographical pattern from north to south, i.e., from areas with greater to lesser human impact. In comparison with other studies, the levels of environmental chemicals found in Kelp Gulls from Chile are much lower than those known to cause adverse effects on reproductive success.

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“…Lower levels of mercury in herring gull feathers collected in 1990 (Fig. 1, and Lewis et al, 1993) seem to point in the same direction, While eggs provide a measure of mercury taken up by seabirds in a period of some days before egg-laying, mercury levels in feathers represent qptake of mercury over the period between moults (Furness et aL, 1986) and so provide a complementary picture. Continuing use of seabirds as monitors of mercury pollution of the North Sea coastal regions will provide a valuable measure of the effectiveness of pollution reduction programmes.…”

Section: Temporal Patterns Of Mercury Pollutionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Further details of the methods and tests of their reliability are provided in Furness et al (1986), Thompson & Furness (1989a. b), Lewis et al (1993). Statistical tests were two-tailed, and the level of significance was p < 0.05.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variation in mercury contamination of seabirds in the North Sea

Furness

Thompson

Becker

1995

Helgolander Meeresunters

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Once the moult patterns have been taken into account, feather methylmercury levels can be used to accurately measure the mercury burdens of seabirds. We used body feathers from live seabirds and from museum collections to examine geographical and temporal patterns of mercury contamination in the North Sea. This approach identifies an increase in mercury concentrations in seabirds of the German North Sea coast during the last 100 years, especially high levels during the 1940s, and reduced contamination in the last few years. Comparisons among populations suggest that some increases in mercury levels are predominantly due to local pollution inputs, as on the German coast, while in other areas deposition from jet stream circulation of global contamination may be the major contributor. Mercury levels are far higher in seabirds from the German North Sea coast than in populations from the north and west North Sea or from most areas of the North Atlantic. We advocate the use of museum collections of birds for studies of long-term changes in levels of mercury contamination.

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Mercury levels in eggs, tissues, and feathers of herring gulls Larus argentatus from the German Wadden Sea Coast

Cited by 142 publications

References 32 publications

Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: influence of trophic position, sex and age

Feather mercury levels in seabirds at South Georgia: influence of trophic position, sex and age

The Kelp Gull as bioindicator of environmental chemicals in the Magellan region. A comparison with other coastal sites in Chile

Spatial and temporal variation in mercury contamination of seabirds in the North Sea

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