Marsh Wrens As Bioindicators of Mercury in Wetlands of Great Salt Lake: Do Blood and Feathers Reflect Site-Specific Exposure Risk to Bird Reproduction?

Hartman, C. Alex; Ackerman, Joshua T.; Herring, Garth; Isanhart, John P.; Herzog, Mark P.

doi:10.1021/es400910x

Cited by 30 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(48 reference statements)

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“…Mercury concentrations in adult penguin feathers provided an estimate of annual body burden of mercury, incorporating dietary exposure to mercury on the wintering grounds as well as in breeding areas Diamond 2008, 2009). As such, adult feathers do not provide succinct information on site-specific mercury exposure which is of particular importance in migratory species (Hartman et al 2013). The lack of annual variability in adult feathers in the present study appeared to suggest that the risk of exposure to mercury did not vary on an annual basis for penguins in the marine ecosystem surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula.…”

Section: Temporal Limitations and Toxicity Thresholdscontrasting

confidence: 73%

“…In addition, this study also highlights the importance of considering the timing of tissue formation relative to dietary uptake when choosing a tissue for biomonitoring studies. Adult feathers can provide an estimate of annual dietary exposure to mercury, but can mask intra-annual changes in mercury exposure that may result from seasonal changes in diet and/or bioavailability of mercury on wintering versus breeding grounds (Hartman et al 2013). Alternatively, egg and nestling/chick tissues represent a discrete period of time for mercury exposure and can subsequently provide more temporally and spatially precise information on local mercury availability (Furness 1993;Hartman et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult feathers can provide an estimate of annual dietary exposure to mercury, but can mask intra-annual changes in mercury exposure that may result from seasonal changes in diet and/or bioavailability of mercury on wintering versus breeding grounds (Hartman et al 2013). Alternatively, egg and nestling/chick tissues represent a discrete period of time for mercury exposure and can subsequently provide more temporally and spatially precise information on local mercury availability (Furness 1993;Hartman et al 2013). Chick tissues, such as down, provide the most direct assessment of local mercury availability as a result of geographically constrained parental foraging during the relatively short chick-rearing period and as such are recommended for future biomonitoring efforts in this region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, remaining B25 km of the breeding colony year round with limited fasting prior to egg laying (Trivelpiece and Trivelpiece 1990;Davis and Renner 2003), the dietary signal in the eggshell membrane of Gentoo penguins can provide a more accurate estimate of adult female dietary mercury exposure prior to egg laying than the former species. Ultimately, care must be taken when interpreting mercury concentrations from different tissues as the timing of tissue formation and subsequently the geographic and dietary source of mercury reflected will vary (Hartman et al 2013).…”

Section: Temporal Limitations and Toxicity Thresholdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We focused our analyses on tissues reflecting short-term mercury exposure during the pre-breeding (eggshell membrane) and chick-rearing (chick down) periods as well a tissue reflecting annual mercury exposure(adult feathers). The use of these tissues in a long-term study of highly mobile species is important to account for spatial and temporal differences in tissue formation and subsequently the dietary and/or geographic differences in mercury exposure (Hartman et al 2013). Our multi-tissue approach allowed us to determine if seasonal and/or interannual changes in tissue mercury concentrations within and across penguin species could be attributed to differences in mercury bioavailability in the Antarctic marine environment and/or annual changes in penguin TL.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-tissue analyses reveal limited inter-annual and seasonal variation in mercury exposure in an Antarctic penguin community

2014

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Inter-annual variation in tissue mercury concentrations in birds can result from annual changes in the bioavailability of mercury or shifts in dietary composition and/or trophic level. We investigated potential annual variability in mercury dynamics in the Antarctic marine food web using Pygoscelis penguins as biomonitors. Eggshell membrane, chick down, and adult feathers were collected from three species of sympatrically breeding Pygoscelis penguins during the austral summers of 2006/2007-2010/2011. To evaluate the hypothesis that mercury concentrations in penguins exhibit significant inter-annual variation and to determine the potential source of such variation (dietary or environmental), we compared tissue mercury concentrations with trophic levels as indicated by δ(15)N values from all species and tissues. Overall, no inter-annual variation in mercury was observed in adult feathers suggesting that mercury exposure, on an annual scale, was consistent for Pygoscelis penguins. However, when examining tissues that reflected more discrete time periods (chick down and eggshell membrane) relative to adult feathers, we found some evidence of inter-annual variation in mercury exposure during penguins' pre-breeding and chick rearing periods. Evidence of inter-annual variation in penguin trophic level was also limited suggesting that foraging ecology and environmental factors related to the bioavailability of mercury may provide more explanatory power for mercury exposure compared to trophic level alone. Even so, the variable strength of relationships observed between trophic level and tissue mercury concentrations across and within Pygoscelis penguin species suggest that caution is required when selecting appropriate species and tissue combinations for environmental biomonitoring studies in Antarctica.

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Section: Temporal Limitations and Toxicity Thresholdscontrasting

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Temporal Limitations and Toxicity Thresholdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-tissue analyses reveal limited inter-annual and seasonal variation in mercury exposure in an Antarctic penguin community

2014

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Egg‐laying sequence influences egg mercury concentrations and egg size in three bird species: Implications for contaminant monitoring programs

Ackerman

Eagles‐Smith

Herzog

et al. 2016

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Bird eggs are commonly used in contaminant monitoring programs and toxicological risk assessments, but intraclutch variation and sampling methodology could influence interpretability. The authors examined the influence of egg-laying sequence on egg mercury concentrations and burdens in American avocets, black-necked stilts, and Forster's terns. The average decline in mercury concentrations between the first and last eggs laid was 33% for stilts, 22% for terns, and 11% for avocets, and most of this decline occurred between the first and second eggs laid (24% for stilts, 18% for terns, and 9% for avocets). Trends in egg size with egg-laying order were inconsistent among species, and overall differences in egg volume, mass, length, and width were <3%. The authors summarized the literature, and among 17 species studied, mercury concentrations generally declined by 16% between the first and second eggs laid. Despite the strong effect of egg-laying sequence, most of the variance in egg mercury concentrations still occurred among clutches (75-91%) rather than within clutches (9%-25%). Using simulations, the authors determined that accurate estimation of a population's mean egg mercury concentration using only a single random egg from a subset of nests would require sampling >60 nests to represent a large population (10% accuracy) or ≥14 nests to represent a small colony that contained <100 nests (20% accuracy). Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:1458-1469. Published 2015 Wiley Periodicals Inc. on behalf of SETAC. This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

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Mercury correlations among blood, muscle, and hair of northern elephant seals during the breeding and molting fasts

Peterson

Ackerman

Costa

2016

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Mercury (Hg) biomonitoring and toxicological risk assessments for marine mammals commonly sample different tissues, making comparisons with toxicity benchmarks and among species and regions difficult. Few studies have examined how life-history events, such as fasting, influence the relationship between total Hg (THg) concentrations in different tissues. The authors evaluated the relationships between THg concentrations in blood, muscle, and hair of female and male northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) at the start and end of the breeding and molting fasts. The relationships between tissues varied among tissue pairs and differed by sampling period and sex. Blood and muscle were generally related at all time periods; however, hair, an inert tissue, did not strongly represent the metabolically active tissues (blood and muscle) at all times of year. The strongest relationships between THg concentrations in hair and those in blood or muscle were observed during periods of active hair growth (end of the molting period) or during time periods when internal body conditions were similar to those when the hair was grown (end of the breeding fast). The results indicate that THg concentrations in blood or muscle can be translated to the other tissue type using the equations developed but that THg concentrations in hair were generally a poor index of internal THg concentrations except during the end of fasting periods. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2103-2110. © 2016 SETAC.

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Marsh Wrens As Bioindicators of Mercury in Wetlands of Great Salt Lake: Do Blood and Feathers Reflect Site-Specific Exposure Risk to Bird Reproduction?

Cited by 30 publications

References 32 publications

Multi-tissue analyses reveal limited inter-annual and seasonal variation in mercury exposure in an Antarctic penguin community

Multi-tissue analyses reveal limited inter-annual and seasonal variation in mercury exposure in an Antarctic penguin community

Egg‐laying sequence influences egg mercury concentrations and egg size in three bird species: Implications for contaminant monitoring programs

Mercury correlations among blood, muscle, and hair of northern elephant seals during the breeding and molting fasts

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