Total Mercury Residues in Livers and Eggs of Oldsquaws

Peterson, Steven R.; Ellarson, Robert S.

doi:10.2307/3800566

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Mansouri and Majnoni (2014) found gender differences with respect to Pb in the kidney of Common Coot (Folica atra), and Cu in the feather and liver of Common Coot and Mallard. In contrast, Peterson and Ellarson (1976) found no sex differences in Hg levels in oldsquaws (Clangula hyemalis); Fleming (1981) found no differences between males and females with respect to Hg and Ni in the liver, Pb in the wing bones and Cd in the kidney in canvasback (Aythya valisineria); and Hassanpour et al (submitted) found no sex differences in Cd, Cr, Pb, Zn and Fe levels in liver, kidney and muscle of gadwall (Anas strepera) and common teal (Anas crecca) from southeastern Caspian Sea, Iran. Gender differences in metal levels might be expected if males and female eat: different foods; different sized foods; or different proportions of different foods (Burger 1995).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Study on Metal Concentrations in Tissues of Mallard and Pochard from Two Major Wintering Sites in Southeastern Caspian Sea, Iran

Sinkakarimi

Pourkhabbaz

Hassanpour³

et al. 2015

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

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We examined concentrations of cadmium, chromium, iron, lead and zinc in the kidney, liver, and pectoral muscle of Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos; n = 30) and Pochards (Aythya ferina; n = 30) from two important wintering sites in the southeastern Caspian Sea in the winter of 2012. Mean lead concentrations (µg g(-1) ww) in livers (2.36 ± 1.00) of Pochard and in kidneys (3.43 ± 0.91) of Mallard exceeded the exposure threshold levels in liver (1.5 µg g(-1) ww) and kidney (3 µg g(-1) ww) of waterfowl. Mean cadmium concentrations in livers (1.63 ± 0.66) of Pochards exceeded the background level of this metal in liver (1 µg g(-1) ww) of waterfowl. Chromium, iron and zinc concentrations were within the normal range as reported in other duck studies. Gender-related and inter-specific variation of metal concentrations in analyzed tissues were observed (t test, p < 0.05). Our results indicated that waterfowl using the Miankalah and Gomishan International Wetlands are being exposed to elevated concentrations of cadmium and lead.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Study on Metal Concentrations in Tissues of Mallard and Pochard from Two Major Wintering Sites in Southeastern Caspian Sea, Iran

Sinkakarimi

Pourkhabbaz

Hassanpour³

et al. 2015

Bull Environ Contam Toxicol

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“…Since the majority of the birds were collected during the fall hunting season, which starts 3 to 4 months after egg-laying, it is assumed that any potential difference in contaminant levels in adult males and females due to females eliminating contaminants into eggs will have been equilibrated through rapid uptake of contaminants. Although the literature is inconclusive, a variety of studies provide evidence to support this assumption for organochlorines (Holt et al, 1979;Gebauer and Weseloh, 1993) as well as Hg (Peterson and Ellarson, 1976;Holt et al, 1979). Adults hunted in the spring were collected prior to egg-laying so the females had not yet eliminated contaminants into the eggs.…”

Section: Data Presentationmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Adults hunted in the spring were collected prior to egg-laying so the females had not yet eliminated contaminants into the eggs. It is also assumed that differences in contaminant levels between juvenile and adult birds collected in the fall will also have been minimized through rapid uptake of contaminants during the months since hatch for organochlorines (Holt et al, 1979;Hebert et al, 1990;Gebauer and Weseloh, 1993) as well as Hg (Peterson and Ellarson, 1976;Holt et al, 1979).…”

Section: Data Presentationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organochlorines and Mercury in Waterfowl Harvested in Canada

Braune

Malone²

2006

Environ Monit Assess

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Samples of breast muscle from 32 species of waterfowl collected from 123 sites across Canada were analyzed for chlorobenzenes (CBz), chlordane-related compounds (CHL), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH), DDT, mirex, dieldrin, PCBs and mercury. SigmaDDT, SigmaCBz and SigmaPCB were the compounds most frequently found above trace levels. SigmaHCH and SigmaMirex were detected the least often. Mercury was detected in all of the mergansers, over 50% of dabbling, bay and sea ducks, and in less than 2% of the geese analysed. The highest levels of contaminants were generally found in birds feeding at higher trophic levels such as sea ducks and mergansers. With the exception of a few samples of mergansers and long-tailed ducks from eastern Canada, which contained SigmaPCB concentrations of 1.0-2.4 mg kg(-1), SigmaPCB levels were less than 1 mg kg(-1) wet weight. Only one merganser from eastern Canada had a SigmaDDT concentration (2.6 mg kg(-1) ww) which was greater than 1 mg kg(-1) ww. The highest SigmaCHL (0.10 mg kg(-1) ww) was also found in mergansers from eastern Canada. Levels of total mercury in breast muscle were either low (< 1 mg kg(-1) ww) or below detection limits with the exception of a few samples of mergansers from eastern Canada which contained mercury concentrations of 1.0-1.5 mg kg(-1) ww. Health Canada determined that the organochlorine and mercury levels found in samples of breast muscle of ducks and geese analysed in this study did not pose a health hazard to human consumers and therefore these waterfowl were safe to eat.

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“…Shorebirds typically arrive on their breeding grounds with minimal fat and have to quickly replenish their energy stores to breed (Klaassen et al 2001; Morrison and Hobson 2004). The methylmercury taken up by shorebirds can be passed from the female’s blood to her eggs through a process known as depuration (Peterson and Ellarson 1976). Since there is a demonstrated strong positive relationship between female blood mercury and egg mercury (Evers et al 2003), it is likely that the mercury content of shorebird eggs reflects the contamination level of the local Arctic environment.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury concentration in the eggs of four Canadian Arctic-breeding shorebirds not predicted based on their population statuses

et al. 2013

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Methylmercury is a toxic form of mercury which persists in food webs for long periods of time and biomagnifies up successive trophic levels. Shorebirds breeding in the Arctic are exposed to methylmercury, derived from both natural and anthropogenic sources, when they ingest their invertebrate prey. Populations of many shorebird species are believed to be declining and one hypothesis for these declines is that they are due to detrimental effects of contaminants, including methylmercury. To test this hypothesis, we assessed mercury contamination in eggs of four Canadian Arctic-breeding shorebird species: black-bellied plover (Pluvialis squatarola), ruddy turnstone (Arenaria interpres), semipalmated plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) and white-rumped sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis). Black-bellied plovers and ruddy turnstones are declining in the western hemisphere, whereas white-rumped sandpipers and semipalmated plovers have stable or slightly increasing populations. We found no relationship between egg mercury concentration and population trend for these four shorebird species. Intraspecific variation in mercury concentration was high. Notably, the mercury concentrations were much higher than levels found in a previous study of eggs of the same shorebird species from this same site, suggesting that mercury contamination may be subject to substantial inter-annual variation in the Canadian Arctic food web.

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Total Mercury Residues in Livers and Eggs of Oldsquaws

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

Study on Metal Concentrations in Tissues of Mallard and Pochard from Two Major Wintering Sites in Southeastern Caspian Sea, Iran

Study on Metal Concentrations in Tissues of Mallard and Pochard from Two Major Wintering Sites in Southeastern Caspian Sea, Iran

Organochlorines and Mercury in Waterfowl Harvested in Canada

Mercury concentration in the eggs of four Canadian Arctic-breeding shorebirds not predicted based on their population statuses

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