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Factors influencing mercury exposure in Arctic-breeding shorebirds

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Abstract

Mercury (Hg) pollution remains a concern to Arctic ecosystems, due to long-range transport from southern industrial regions and melting permafrost and glaciers. The objective of this study was to identify intrinsic, extrinsic, and temporal factors influencing Hg concentrations in Arctic-breeding shorebirds and highlight regions and species at greatest risk of Hg exposure. We analyzed 1094 blood and 1384 feather samples from 12 shorebird species breeding at nine sites across the North American Arctic during 2012 and 2013. Blood Hg concentrations, which reflect Hg exposure in the local area in individual shorebirds: 1) ranged from 0.01–3.52 μg/g ww, with an overall mean of 0.30 ± 0.27 μg/g ww; 2) were influenced by species and study site, but not sampling year, with birds sampled near Utqiaġvik, AK, having the highest concentrations; and 3) were influenced by foraging habitat at some sites. Feather Hg concentrations, which reflected Hg exposure from the wintering grounds: 1) ranged from 0.07–12.14 μg/g fw in individuals, with an overall mean of 1.14 ± 1.18 μg/g fw; and 2) were influenced by species and year. Most Arctic-breeding shorebirds had blood and feather Hg concentrations at levels where no adverse effects of exposure were predicted, though some individuals sampled near Utqiaġvik had Hg levels that would be considered of concern. Overall, these data increase our understanding of how Hg is distributed in the various shorebird breeding areas of the Arctic, what factors predispose Arctic-breeding shorebirds to Hg exposure, and lay the foundation for future monitoring efforts.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), via a cooperative agreement (Award # F12AP00704) under the Migratory Bird Project Support: Monitoring, Assessment, Conservation program (15.655) in 2012, and a grant award (FWS 2013-01) through the Avian Health and Disease program (F12PX03583) in 2013. Additional funding was provided by Fulbright Canada (Perkins), as well as the Canada Research Chair program and NSERC Discovery Grant (Basu). For all samples used in this research, capture, handling, and sampling of animals took place under applicable federal, state, provincial, and territorial permits for wildlife research under the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), the U.S. Geological Survey, USFWS, and the Canadian Wildlife Service. Access to Inuit Nunangat for sampling was granted through exemption permits provided by the regional Inuit Associations to Environment and Climate Change Canada. All sampling followed protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees or Animal Use Protocol Approval at the USFWS and all associated universities. Samples from Canadian study sites were shipped to BRI under a USFWS import permit (MB083478). This research was a large collaborative effort between BRI and the Arctic Shorebird Demographics Network (ASDN). We thank BRI collaborators David Evers, Lisa Ferguson, Jennifer Goyette, and Andrew Gilbert. Michelle St. Peters, Patrick Herzog, Scot Williamson, and Meghan Gilbart provided help with project logistics, and Jessica O’Connell generously provided guidance on statistical analyses. We thank Birgit Braune for an early revision to this manuscript. We are deeply indebted to the many field coordinators and technicians who collected samples in challenging conditions.

Funding

This project was funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), via a cooperative agreement (Award # F12AP00704) under the Migratory Bird Project Support: Monitoring, Assessment, Conservation program (15.655) in 2012, and a grant award (FWS 2013-01) through the Avian Health and Disease program (F12PX03583) in 2013. Additional funding was provided by Fulbright Canada (MP), as well as the Canada Research Chair program and NSERC Discovery Grant (NB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Agriculture & Environmental Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Marie Perkins & Niladri Basu

  2. University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, USA

    Marie Perkins

  3. Biodiversity Research Institute, Portland, ME, USA

    Iain J. Stenhouse & Kevin Regan

  4. US Fish and Wildlife Service, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Richard B. Lanctot, Megan Boldenow & Sarah T. Saalfeld

  5. Manomet, Inc., Manomet, MA, USA

    Stephen Brown

  6. Département de biologie and Centre d’études nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, QC, Canada

    Joël Bêty & Jean-Francois Lamarre

  7. University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA

    Jenny Cunningham

  8. Centre for Wildlife Ecology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Willow English

  9. National Audubon Society, Anchorage, AK, USA

    River Gates

  10. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    H. Grant Gilchrist & Paul A. Smith

  11. Centre d’Études Nordiques, Department of Biology, Université de Moncton, Moncton, NB, Canada

    Marie-Andrée Giroux & Nicolas Lecomte

  12. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alaska–Anchorage, Anchorage, AK, USA

    Kirsten Grond

  13. Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, Corpus Christi, TX, USA

    Brooke Hill

  14. Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence, Seewiesen, Germany

    Eunbi Kwon

  15. Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    David B. Lank

  16. Kellogg Biological Station, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI, USA

    David Pavlik

  17. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Yellowknife, NT, Canada

    Jennie Rausch & Paul Woodard

  18. Wildlife Conservation Society, Fairbanks, AK, USA

    Martin Robards

  19. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Brunswick, GA, USA

    Fletcher Smith

  20. Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies, Washington, DC, USA

    Bradley Wilkinson

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Contributions

MP, NB, IS, RL, and SB contributed to the study conception and design. JB, MB, JC, WE, RG, GG, M-AG, KG, BH, EK, J-FL, DBL, NL, DP, JR, KR, MR, SS, FS, PS, BW, and PW supervised or led all fieldwork and collected all samples. KR analyzed all samples, and MP performed all data analysis. MP, NB, and IS led writing of the manuscript, with notable help from DBL, NL, and SS. All authors read, commented on, and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marie Perkins.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Ethics approval

For all samples used in this research, capture, handling, and sampling of animals took place under applicable state and federal permits for wildlife research under the Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI), the U.S. Geological Survey, USFWS, and the Canadian Wildlife Service. All sampling followed protocols approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees or Animal Use Protocol Approval at the USFWS and all associated universities. Samples from Canadian study sites were shipped to BRI under a USFWS import permit (MB083478). We acknowledge that our work was performed in several Indigenous territories, and we are appreciative of the support received from the communities.

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Perkins, M., Stenhouse, I.J., Lanctot, R.B. et al. Factors influencing mercury exposure in Arctic-breeding shorebirds. Ecotoxicology 32, 1062–1083 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-023-02708-w

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