Linking mercury exposure to habitat and feeding behaviour in Beaufort Sea beluga whales

Loseto, Lisa L.; Stern, Gary A.; Deibel, Don; Connelly, Tara L.; Prokopowicz, A.; Lean, D. R. S.; Fortier, Louis; Ferguson, Steven H.

doi:10.1016/j.jmarsys.2007.10.004

Cited by 111 publications

(127 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…[69,145] In Arctic marine food webs the MeHg fraction is variable in zooplankton, ranging from 30 % in the Beaufort Sea. [116,144] to 70 % in Baffin Bay. [145] This may be attributed to significant spatial and seasonal heterogeneity [116] or variability among zooplankton species as observed in halogenated organic contaminants.…”

Section: Methylmercury Destruction Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…However, it is not known whether Arctic haloclines contain important reservoirs of MeHg or whether this Hg enters food webs. It is striking that high MeHg concentrations occur in lower levels of the food web in Canada Basin, [116] and in higher trophic level animals like the Beaufort beluga population, which ranges into the Canada Basin [144] relative to other Arctic marine food webs (e.g. the eastern Canadian Arctic).…”

Section: Controls On Arctic Food Chain Mercury Accumulation By Methylmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7b). [144][145][146] A study using d 15 N to infer the trophic positions of species [145] reported log concentration-d 15 [146] as well as in food webs along the west coast of Greenland that had log concentration-d 15 N relationship slopes of 0.18 and 0.34 for THg and MeHg. [167] Regression slopes of these Arctic marine examples were noted to be remarkably similar to others in different systems regardless of productivity, latitude or salinity.…”

Section: Methylmercury Destruction Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[168] Fish such as Arctic cod have 80 to 97 % Hg as MeHg in the Beaufort Sea and its shelf, and 100 % in Baffin Bay. [116,144] Despite these variations, the predictable increase in the MeHg fraction of THg with increasing trophic level demonstrates that a small increase in bioavailable MeHg at the bottom of the food web can result in relatively large increases in higher trophic level organisms. The previous examples are representative of pelagic systems.…”

Section: Methylmercury Destruction Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, a review

Douglas

Loseto²,

Macdonald³

et al. 2012

Environ. Chem.

121

147

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Environmental context. Mercury, in its methylated form, is a neurotoxin that biomagnifies in marine and terrestrial foodwebs leading to elevated levels in fish and fish-eating mammals worldwide, including at numerous Arctic locations. Elevated mercury concentrations in Arctic country foods present a significant exposure risk to Arctic people. We present a detailed review of the fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and marine ecosystems, taking into account the extreme seasonality of Arctic ecosystems and the unique processes associated with sea ice and Arctic hydrology.Abstract. This review is the result of a series of multidisciplinary meetings organised by the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme as part of their 2011 Assessment 'Mercury in the Arctic'. This paper presents the state-of-the-art knowledge on the environmental fate of mercury following its entry into the Arctic by oceanic, atmospheric and terrestrial pathways. Our focus is on the movement, transformation and bioaccumulation of Hg in aquatic (marine and fresh water) and terrestrial ecosystems. The processes most relevant to biological Hg uptake and the potential risk associated with Hg exposure in wildlife are emphasised. We present discussions of the chemical transformations of newly deposited or transported Hg in marine, fresh water and terrestrial environments and of the movement of Hg from air, soil and water environmental compartments into food webs. Methylation, a key process controlling the fate of Hg in most ecosystems, and the role of trophic processes in controlling Hg in higher order animals are also included. Case studies on Eastern Beaufort Sea beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) and landlocked Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) are presented as examples of the relationship between ecosystem trophic processes and biologic Hg levels. We examine whether atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) contribute to increased Hg levels in Arctic biota and provide information on the links between organic carbon and Hg speciation, dynamics and bioavailability. Long-term sequestration of Hg into non-biological archives is also addressed. The review concludes by identifying major knowledge gaps in our understanding, including:(1) the rates of Hg entry into marine and terrestrial ecosystems and the rates of inorganic and MeHg uptake by Arctic microbial and algal communities; (2) the bioavailable fraction of AMDE-related Hg and its rate of accumulation by biota and (3) the fresh water and marine MeHg cycle in the Arctic, especially the marine MeHg cycle.

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Section: Methylmercury Destruction Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Controls On Arctic Food Chain Mercury Accumulation By Methylmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methylmercury Destruction Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methylmercury Destruction Pathwaysmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, a review

Douglas

Loseto²,

Macdonald³

et al. 2012

Environ. Chem.

121

147

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Rising temperature and changes in organic carbon flux would affect the presence and activity of Hg methylators thus changing the locality and pool of MeHg available for biological uptake. Furthermore, any changes in the predator behavior (e.g., habitat use, diet preferences) of an Arctic animal and in the structure and dynamics of Arctic food webs in general would also result in a significance change in the Hg concentration in the animal [26].…”

Section: Sensitivity Of Hg Biogeochemical Cycles To Environmental Changementioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury contamination in aquatic ecosystems under a changing environment: Implications for the Three Gorges Reservoir

Wang

Zhang

2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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Mercury is one of the primary contaminants of global concern. As anthropogenic emissions of mercury are gradually placed under control, evidence is emerging that biotic mercury levels in many aquatic ecosystems are increasingly driven by internal biogeochemical processes, especially in ecosystems that have been undergoing dramatic environmental changes. Here we review the unique properties of mercury that are responsible for the exceptional sensitivity of its biogeochemical cycles to changes in climatic, geochemical, biological and ecological processes. We show that, due to rapid climate warming, a shift from sources-driven to processes-driven mercury bioaccumulation is already happening in the Arctic marine ecosystem. We further suggest that such a shift might also be operating in the Three Gorges Reservoir due to changes in these biogeochemical processes induced by the damming. As a result, the effectiveness of mercury emission control is expected to be followed by long delays before ensuing reduction is seen in food-web levels, making it all the more pressing to control and reduce mercury emissions to the reservoir. Long-term monitoring and targeted studies are urgently needed to understand how biotic mercury levels in the reservoir are responding to changes in mercury emissions and in biogeochemical processes.

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Distribution and composition of suspended biogenic particles in surface waters across Subarctic and Arctic Seas

et al. 2013

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Suspended biogenic particles were examined across Subarctic and Arctic Seas during the Canada‐Three‐Oceans (C3O) program in the summers of 2007 and 2008. Particulate organic carbon (POC) and nitrogen (PON), biogenic silica (bSiO2), and size‐fractionated chlorophyll a (chl a) concentrations were measured within the euphotic zone throughout five domains: Eastern Subarctic North Pacific (ESNP), Bering and Chukchi Seas (BE‐CH), Southern Beaufort Sea and Canada Basin (BS‐CB), Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA), and Baffin Bay and Labrador Sea (BB‐LS). Despite large variability along the sampling transect and vertically throughout the euphotic zone, domain averages of depth‐integrated POC and PON were relatively invariant across the ESNP, BE‐CH, CAA, and BB‐LS, ranging from 546 to 670 mmol m−2 (POC) and 101 to 154 mmol m−2 (PON), but were much lower in BS‐CB (199 and 78 mmol m−2, respectively). In contrast, depth‐integrated bSiO2 averages were highest in BE‐CH and CAA (>100 mmol m−2), intermediate in ESNP and BB‐LS (34–48 mmol m−2), and low in BS‐CB (6 mmol m−2). Similarly to the bSiO2 distribution, the biomass of the >5 μm chl a size‐fraction averaged 68–69% of total chl a in BE‐CH and CAA, 56% in BB‐LS, and 22–23% in ESNP and BS‐CB. Ratios of bSiO2:PON averaged 1.10–1.30 in BE‐CH and CAA, 0.30–0.34 in ESNP and BB‐LS, and 0.08 in BS‐CB. This study highlights the relative importance of siliceous phytoplankton such as diatoms in BE‐CH and CAA, smaller nonsiliceous cells in BS‐CB and ESNP, and a mixed assemblage of variably sized phytoplankton with a less siliceous component in BB‐LS.

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Linking mercury exposure to habitat and feeding behaviour in Beaufort Sea beluga whales

Cited by 111 publications

References 32 publications

The fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, a review

The fate of mercury in Arctic terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, a review

Mercury contamination in aquatic ecosystems under a changing environment: Implications for the Three Gorges Reservoir

Distribution and composition of suspended biogenic particles in surface waters across Subarctic and Arctic Seas

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