Mercury Levels in Feathers of Penguins from the Antarctic Peninsula Area: Geographical and Inter-Specific Differences

Miguel Motas, Silvia Jerez, Marta Esteban, Francisco Valera, José Javier Cuervo and Andrés Barbosa
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Miguel Motas: Área de Toxicología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Silvia Jerez: Área de Toxicología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Murcia, Campus de Espinardo, 30100 Murcia, Spain
Marta Esteban: Área de Toxicología Ambiental, Centro Nacional de Sanidad Ambiental, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Ctra. Majadahonda-Madrid, 28220 Majadahonda, Spain
Francisco Valera: Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
José Javier Cuervo: Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
Andrés Barbosa: Departamento de Ecología Funcional y Evolutiva, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas, CSIC, Carretera de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 18, 1-10

Abstract: Polar regions, symbols of wilderness, have been identified as potential sinks of mercury coming from natural and anthropogenic sources at lower latitudes. Changes in ice coverage currently occurring in some areas such as the Antarctic Peninsula could enhance these phenomena and their impacts on local biota. As long-lived species at the top of food chains, seabirds are particularly sensitive to this highly toxic metal with the capacity to be biomagnified. Specifically, their feathers can be useful for Hg monitoring since they mainly accumulate its most toxic and persistent form, methyl-Hg. To that end, feathers of gentoo ( Pygoscelis papua ), chinstrap ( P. antarcticus ), and Adélie penguins ( P. adeliae ) ( n = 108) were collected by passive sampling in seven different locations throughout the Antarctic Peninsula area and analyzed by ICP-MS after microwave-digestion. More than 93% of the samples showed detectable Hg levels (range: 6.3–12,529.8 ng g ?1 dry weight), and the highest ones were found in the feathers of chinstrap penguins from King George Island. Hg bioconcentration and biomagnification seem to be occurring in the Antarctic food web, giving rise to high but non-toxic Hg levels in penguins, similar to those previously found in Arctic seabirds.

Keywords: mercury; penguins; feathers; Antarctic Peninsula; biomonitoring (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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