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Article Dans Une Revue Environmental Pollution Année : 2024

Spatial distribution of selenium-mercury in Arctic seabirds

Marta Cruz-Flores
Signe Christensen-Dalsgaard
Sébastien Descamps
  • Fonction : Auteur
Kyle Elliott
  • Fonction : Auteur
Kjell Einar Erikstad
  • Fonction : Auteur
Alexey Ezhov
  • Fonction : Auteur
Maria Gavrilo
David Grémillet
  • Fonction : Auteur
Scott Hatch
  • Fonction : Auteur
Nicholas Per Huffeldt
Alexander Kitaysky
Yann Kolbeinsson
Yuri Krasnov
Magdalene Langset
  • Fonction : Auteur
Sarah Leclaire
Jannie Linnebjerg
Erlend Lorentzen
  • Fonction : Auteur
Mark Mallory
Flemming Merkel
  • Fonction : Auteur
William Montevecchi
Anders Mosbech
Allison Patterson
  • Fonction : Auteur
Samuel Perret
  • Fonction : Auteur
Jennifer Provencher
Tone Reiertsen
  • Fonction : Auteur
Heather Renner
Hallvard Strøm
  • Fonction : Auteur
Akinori Takahashi
Jean-Baptiste Thiebot
Alexis Will
Paco Bustamante
Jérôme Fort
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Mercury (Hg) is a metallic trace element toxic for humans and wildlife that can originate from natural and anthropic sources. Hg spatial gradients have been found in seabirds from the Arctic and other oceans, suggesting contrasting toxicity risks across regions. Selenium (Se) plays a protective role against Hg toxicity, but its spatial distribution has been much less investigated than that of Hg. From 2015 to 2017, we measured spatial coexposure of Hg and Se in blood samples of two seabird species, the Brünnich’s guillemot (Uria lomvia) and the black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) from 17 colonies in the Arctic and subarctic regions, and we calculated their molar ratios (Se:Hg), as a measure of Hg sequestration by Se and, therefore, of Hg exposure risk. We also evaluated concentration differences between species and ocean basins (Pacific-Arctic and Atlantic-Arctic), and examined the influence of trophic ecology on Hg and Se concentrations using nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes. In the Atlantic-Arctic ocean, we found a negative west-to-east gradient of Hg and Se for guillemots, and a positive west-to-east gradient of Se for kittiwakes, suggesting that these species are better protected from Hg toxicity in the European Arctic. Differences in Se gradients between species suggest that they do not follow environmental Se spatial variations. This, together with the absence of a general pattern for isotopes influence on trace element concentrations, could be due to foraging ecology differences between species. In both oceans, the two species showed similar Hg concentrations, but guillemots showed lower Se concentrations and Se:Hg than kittiwakes, suggesting a higher Hg toxicity risk in guillemots. Within species, neither Hg, nor Se or Se:Hg differed between both oceans. Our study highlights the importance of considering Se together with Hg, along with different species and regions, when evaluating Hg toxic effects on marine predators in international monitoring programs.
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Dates et versions

hal-04365166 , version 1 (27-12-2023)

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Marta Cruz-Flores, Jérémy Lemaire, Maud Brault-Favrou, Signe Christensen-Dalsgaard, Carine Churlaud, et al.. Spatial distribution of selenium-mercury in Arctic seabirds. Environmental Pollution, 2024, 343, pp.123110. ⟨10.1016/j.envpol.2023.123110⟩. ⟨hal-04365166⟩
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