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Tartu S, Angelier F, Wingfield JC, Bustamante P, Labadie P, Budzinski H, Weimerskirch H, Bustnes JO, Chastel O. Corticosterone, prolactin and egg neglect behavior in relation to mercury and legacy POPs in a long-lived Antarctic bird. Sci Total Environ 2015; 505:180-188. [PMID: 25461020 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.10.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2014] [Revised: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 10/02/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Seabirds often have high loads of contaminants. These contaminants have endocrine disrupting properties but their relationships with some endocrine mechanisms are still poorly investigated in free-living organisms. This is the case for the stress response which shifts energy investment away from reproduction and redirects it towards survival. In birds, this stress response is achieved through a release of corticosterone and is also accompanied by a decrease in circulating prolactin, an anterior pituitary hormone widely involved in regulating parental cares. We measured blood concentrations of some legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury (Hg) and examined their relationships with the corticosterone and prolactin responses of known-age (9-46 years old) incubating snow petrels (Pagodroma nivea) to a standardized capture/handling stress protocol. In this Antarctic seabird, we also investigated whether high contaminant burden correlates with a higher occurrence of egg neglect, a frequently observed behavior in snow petrels. POPs and Hg were unrelated to age. Stress-induced corticosterone concentrations were positively related to POPs in both sexes, and stress-induced prolactin concentrations were negatively related to Hg in males. Egg-neglect behavior was not related to POPs burden, but males with higher Hg concentrations were more likely to neglect their egg. This suggests that in birds, relationships between age and contaminants are complex and that even low to moderate concentrations of POPs and Hg are significantly related to hormonal secretion. In this Antarctic species, exposure to legacy POPs and Hg could make individuals more susceptible to environmental stressors such as ongoing disturbances in Polar Regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Tartu
- UMR 7372, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, Villiers-en-bois, France.
| | - F Angelier
- UMR 7372, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, Villiers-en-bois, France
| | - J C Wingfield
- Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of CA, Davis, USA
| | - P Bustamante
- Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-Université de la Rochelle, La Rochelle, France
| | - P Labadie
- Université de Bordeaux, EPOC/LPTC, UMR 5805, F-33400 Talence, France; CNRS, EPOC/LPTC, UMR 5805, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - H Budzinski
- Université de Bordeaux, EPOC/LPTC, UMR 5805, F-33400 Talence, France; CNRS, EPOC/LPTC, UMR 5805, F-33400 Talence, France
| | - H Weimerskirch
- UMR 7372, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, Villiers-en-bois, France
| | - J O Bustnes
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, FRAM - High North Research Centre on Climate and the Environment, NO-9296 Tromsø, Norway
| | - O Chastel
- UMR 7372, CNRS-Université de La Rochelle, Villiers-en-bois, France
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Barbraud C, Weimerskirch H, Guinet C, Jouventin P. Effect of sea-ice extent on adult survival of an Antarctic top predator: the snow petrel Pagodroma nivea. Oecologia 2000; 125:483-8. [PMID: 28547217 DOI: 10.1007/s004420000481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/1999] [Accepted: 06/27/2000] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The snow petrel Pagodroma nivea is an obligate associate of sea-ice and one of the most abundant seabird species of the Southern Ocean. Time- and sex-specific annual variation in adult survival was estimated using capture-mark-recapture of petrels nesting at Pétrels Island, Terre Adélie, 1981-1997. On the basis of a regression analysis, 44% of the variation was linked inversely to the latitudinal extent of sea-ice during winter (June) in the region offshore of the study colony, where this population is likely to spend the non-breeding season. Monthly sea-surface temperature anomalies tended to influence adult survival but the relationship was not statistically significant. Why sea-ice extent should have such a critical effect on this species is yet to be explained, but the relationship, in the context of environmental warming and the consequent potential loss of Antarctic sea-ice, is an important one for this species.
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