Historical patterns in mercury exposure for North American songbirds
| Autor: | Evan M. Adams, David C. Evers, Allyson K. Jackson, Jeremiah Trimble, Samuel T. Edmunds, Marie Perkins, Julie C. Hagelin, Amy K. Sauer, Oksana P. Lane, Elsie M. Sunderland, Nelson J. O'Driscoll |
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| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Pollution Health Toxicology and Mutagenesis media_common.quotation_subject Wildlife Zoology chemistry.chemical_element 010501 environmental sciences Management Monitoring Policy and Law Biology Toxicology 01 natural sciences Songbirds chemistry.chemical_compound Ecotoxicology Animals Methylmercury 0105 earth and related environmental sciences media_common Biota General Medicine Mercury Mercury (element) 010602 entomology chemistry Feather visual_art North America visual_art.visual_art_medium Conservation status Environmental Pollutants Environmental Pollution Environmental Monitoring |
| Zdroj: | Ecotoxicology (London, England). 29(8) |
| ISSN: | 1573-3017 |
| Popis: | Methylmercury (MeHg) is a global environmental contaminant that poses significant risks to the health of humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. Assessing MeHg exposure in biota across the landscape and over time is vital for monitoring MeHg pollution and gauging the effectiveness of regulations intended to reduce new mercury (Hg) releases. We used MeHg concentrations measured in museum specimen feathers (collected between 1869 and 2014) and total Hg concentrations (as a proxy for MeHg) of feathers sampled from wild birds (collected between 2008 and 2017) to investigate temporal patterns in exposure over approximately 150 years for North American songbirds. For individual species, we found greater concentrations for samples collected post-2000 compared to those collected during historic times (pre-1900) for six of seven songbird species. Mean feather concentrations measured in samples collected post-2000 ranged between 1.9 and 17 times (mean 6.6) greater than historic specimens. The proportion of individual songbirds with feather concentrations that exceeded modeled toxicity benchmarks increased in samples collected after 1940. Only 2% of individual songbirds collected prior to 1940 had feather concentrations greater than 2.4 μg/g (a toxicity benchmark related to a 10% decrease in nest success) compared to 35% of individuals collected post-1940. Many species included in this study have a vulnerable or near-threatened conservation status, suggesting recovery actions are needed to address mercury pollution. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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