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Albert C, Moe B, Strøm H, Grémillet D, Brault-Favrou M, Tarroux A, Descamps S, Bråthen VS, Merkel B, Åström J, Amélineau F, Angelier F, Anker-Nilssen T, Chastel O, Christensen-Dalsgaard S, Danielsen J, Elliott K, Erikstad KE, Ezhov A, Fauchald P, Gabrielsen GW, Gavrilo M, Hanssen SA, Helgason HH, Johansen MK, Kolbeinsson Y, Krasnov Y, Langset M, Lemaire J, Lorentsen SH, Olsen B, Patterson A, Plumejeaud-Perreau C, Reiertsen TK, Systad GH, Thompson PM, Lindberg Thórarinsson T, Bustamante P, Fort J. Seabirds reveal mercury distribution across the North Atlantic. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2315513121. [PMID: 38739784 PMCID: PMC11126949 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2315513121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is a heterogeneously distributed toxicant affecting wildlife and human health. Yet, the spatial distribution of Hg remains poorly documented, especially in food webs, even though this knowledge is essential to assess large-scale risk of toxicity for the biota and human populations. Here, we used seabirds to assess, at an unprecedented population and geographic magnitude and high resolution, the spatial distribution of Hg in North Atlantic marine food webs. To this end, we combined tracking data of 837 seabirds from seven different species and 27 breeding colonies located across the North Atlantic and Atlantic Arctic together with Hg analyses in feathers representing individual seabird contamination based on their winter distribution. Our results highlight an east-west gradient in Hg concentrations with hot spots around southern Greenland and the east coast of Canada and a cold spot in the Barents and Kara Seas. We hypothesize that those gradients are influenced by eastern (Norwegian Atlantic Current and West Spitsbergen Current) and western (East Greenland Current) oceanic currents and melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. By tracking spatial Hg contamination in marine ecosystems and through the identification of areas at risk of Hg toxicity, this study provides essential knowledge for international decisions about where the regulation of pollutants should be prioritized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Céline Albert
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés, UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, La Rochelle17000, France
| | - Børge Moe
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim7034, Norway
| | - Hallvard Strøm
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø9296, Norway
| | - David Grémillet
- Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR5175, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier34293, France
- FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch7701, South Africa
| | - Maud Brault-Favrou
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés, UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, La Rochelle17000, France
| | - Arnaud Tarroux
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø9296, Norway
| | | | | | - Benjamin Merkel
- Norwegian Polar Institute, Fram Centre, Tromsø9296, Norway
- Akvaplan-niva, Fram Centre, TromsøNO-9007, Norway
| | - Jens Åström
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Trondheim7034, Norway
| | - Françoise Amélineau
- Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, UMR5175, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Montpellier34293, France
| | - Frédéric Angelier
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS La Rochelle Université, Villiers-en-Bois79360, France
| | | | - Olivier Chastel
- Centre d’Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS La Rochelle Université, Villiers-en-Bois79360, France
| | | | - Johannis Danielsen
- Seabird Ecology Department, Faroe Marine Research Institute, TórshavnFO-100, Faroe Islands
| | - Kyle Elliott
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, QCH9X 3V9, Canada
| | | | - Alexey Ezhov
- Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Murmansk183010, Russia
| | - Per Fauchald
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø9296, Norway
| | | | - Maria Gavrilo
- Association Maritime Heritage, Icebreaker “Krassin”, Saint-PetersburgRU–199106, Russia
- National Park Russian Arctic, ArchangelskRU-168000, Russia
| | - Sveinn Are Hanssen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø9296, Norway
| | | | | | | | - Yuri Krasnov
- Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Murmansk183010, Russia
| | | | - Jérémy Lemaire
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés, UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, La Rochelle17000, France
| | | | - Bergur Olsen
- Seabird Ecology Department, Faroe Marine Research Institute, TórshavnFO-100, Faroe Islands
| | - Allison Patterson
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Ste Anne-de-Bellevue, QCH9X 3V9, Canada
| | | | - Tone K. Reiertsen
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Tromsø9296, Norway
| | | | - Paul M. Thompson
- University of Aberdeen, School of Biological Sciences, Lighthouse Field Station, Ross-shire, CromartyIV11 8YJ, Scotland
| | | | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés, UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, La Rochelle17000, France
- Institut Universitaire de France, Paris75005, France
| | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés, UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, La Rochelle17000, France
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Pagani-Núñez E, Barnett CRA, Senar JC. Age and sex differences in niche use at molt and its effect on plumage coloration characteristics in a bird. Curr Zool 2018; 65:251-260. [PMID: 31263483 PMCID: PMC6595419 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2018] [Accepted: 07/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Bird plumage is often very colorful and can communicate the quality of the bearer to conspecifics. These plumage-based signals of quality are composed of multiple pigments (e.g., melanin and carotenoids). Therefore, sex and age classes, which often show marked differences in plumage coloration, may have different dietary needs for the different plumage components and this might promote preferences for different dietary niches at different molting stages. However, no study has addressed the role that changes in niche use play in the expression of multiple component plumage signals in birds. We used stable isotope analysis to test the hypothesis that niche use is related to age and sex and to differently cultured plumage patches, yellow carotenoid-based and black melanin-based, in great tits Parus major. We recorded high niche overlap between plumage patches, although δ15N was higher in black than yellow plumage. Niche overlap was relatively low for age classes and relatively high for sex classes, and age classes showed a contrasting pattern of niche overlap between carotenoid- and melanin-based plumages. Moreover, δ13C, but not δ15N, had a significant negative relationship with carotenoid-based plumage, which was only apparent in juveniles. Taken together, our results demonstrate that niche use had a moderate influence on plumage coloration characteristics of great tit individuals, mostly associated with δ13C rather than with δ15N and with age rather than with sex. Therefore, our study is significant because it confirms the relevance of niche use during ornament production in free-living birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilio Pagani-Núñez
- State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Department of Ecology/School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Craig R A Barnett
- Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, University of Kyoto, Kitashirakawa-oiwake-cho, Sakio-ku, Kyoto, Japan
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