Contamination and plastic debris residues in Antarctic petrel species
Final Report Abstract
We compared the mercury contamination among petrels sampled at different Antarctic and subantarctic sites and times of the season, and measured the esposure of Wilson’s storm-petrels to POPs. Small petrels (storm-petrels, prions and blue petrels) showed a range of mercury contamination associated with breeding and interbreeding distribution and trophic level (determined using compound-specific stable isotope analyses). However, distribution and trophic level alone did not explain the contamination level and instead, feeding on lanternfish (myctophids) may be an important determinant of the exposure to mercury. Important carry-over effects of the exposure in the inter-breeding season were only found for one species (blue petrels). To better understand the foraging ecology and distribution, we further carried out a pilot study on GPS tracking of Wilson’s storm-petrels.
Publications
- (2021) Influence of species-specific feeding ecology on mercury concentrations in seabirds breeding on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 40: 454-472
Thébault J, Bustamante P, Massaro M, Taylor G & Quillfeldt P
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4933)
