An official website of the United States government
We evaluated annual and regional variation in the dietary niche of Pygoscelis penguins including the sea ice-obligate Adélie penguin ( Pygoscelis adeliae ), and sea ice-intolerant chinstrap ( Pygoscelis antarcticus ) and gentoo ( Pygoscelis papua ) penguins, three species that nest throughout the western Antarctic Peninsula (AP) to test the sea ice trophic interaction hypothesis , which posits that penguin breeding populations with divergent trends, i.e., declining or increasing, are reliant on differing food webs. Our study relies on values of naturally occurring carbon ( 13 C/ 12 C, δ 13 C) and nitrogen ( 15 N/ 14 N, δ 15 N) stable isotopes as integrated proxies of penguin food webs measured over three years at three different breeding colonies. At Anvers Island in the north, where reductions in sea ice and changes in breeding population trends among sympatric sea ice-obligate (Adélie) and sea ice-intolerant (chinstrap and gentoo) penguins have been most notable, our analyses show that all three species of Pygoscelis penguins became more similar isotopically over the reproductive period. By late chick-rearing at Anvers Island, crèched chicks at 5-weeks-old for all species occupied similar trophic positions. Isotopic mixing models indicated that the proportions of prey provisioned by adult penguins to 5-week-old chicks at Anvers Island were generally similar across species within years, consisting primarily of Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba ). Crèched Adélie chicks had higher δ 13 C and δ 15 N values at Avian and Charcot Islands, southern breeding colonies where sea ice is more prominent and populations of Adélie penguins have increased or remain stable. Trophic position increased with latitude, while the proportions of prey provisioned by Adélie penguin adults to chicks at southern breeding colonies included species typical of high Antarctic marine food webs, especially crystal krill ( Euphausia crystallorophias ). A Bayesian metric for dietary niche width, standard ellipse area (SEA-B), indicated that Pygoscelis penguins with greater population changes in the north had more variability in dietary niche width than stable populations further south. Our results lend insight on marine food web drivers of Pygoscelis penguin reproduction at the regional scale and question the long-standing paradigm that Antarctic krill are the only food web component critical to penguin reproductive survival in this region of the Southern Ocean.
more »
« less
Circumpolar assessment of mercury contamination: the Adélie penguin as a bioindicator of Antarctic marine ecosystems
Due to its persistence and potential ecological and health impacts, mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant of major concern that may reach high concentrations even in remote polar oceans. In contrast to the Arctic Ocean, studies documenting Hg contamination in the Southern Ocean are spatially restricted and large-scale monitoring is needed. Here, we present the first circumpolar assessment of Hg contamination in Antarctic marine ecosystems. Specifically, the Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) was used as a bioindicator species, to examine regional variation across 24 colonies distributed across the entire Antarctic continent. Mercury was measured on body feathers collected from both adults (n = 485) and chicks (n = 48) between 2005 and 2021. Because penguins9 diet represents the dominant source of Hg, feather δ13C and δ15N values were measured as proxies of feeding habitat and trophic position. As expected, chicks had lower Hg concentrations (mean ± SD: 0.22 ± 0.08 μg·g_1) than adults (0.49 ± 0.23 μg·g_1), likely because of their shorter bioaccumulation period. In adults, spatial variation in feather Hg concentrations was driven by both trophic ecology and colony location. The highest Hg concentrations were observed in the Ross Sea, possibly because of a higher consumption of fish in the diet compared to other sites (krill-dominated diet). Such large-scale assessments are critical to assess the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Owing to their circumpolar distribution and their ecological role in Antarctic marine ecosystems, Adélie penguins could be valuable bioindicators for tracking spatial and temporal trends of Hg across Antarctic waters in the future.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 1935870
- PAR ID:
- 10543101
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- Springer
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecotoxicology
- Volume:
- 32
- Issue:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 0963-9292
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1024 to 1049
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
Abstract Methylmercury (MeHg) is known to biomagnify in marine food chains, resulting in higher concentrations in upper trophic level animals than their prey. To better understand how marine copepods, an important intermediate between phytoplankton and forage fish at the bottom of the food chain, assimilate and release MeHg, the authors performed a series of laboratory experiments using the gamma‐emitting radiotracer203Hg2+and Me203Hg with the calanoid copepodAcartia tonsa. Assimilation efficiencies of Hg2+and MeHg ranged from 25% to 31% and 58% to 79%, respectively, depending on algal diets. Assimilation efficiencies were positively related to the fraction of Hg in the cytoplasm of the algal cells that comprised their diet. Efflux rates of Hg2+(0.29/d) and MeHg (0.21/d) following aqueous uptake were similar, but efflux rates following dietary uptake were significantly lower for MeHg (0.11–0.22/d) than Hg2+(0.47–0.66/d). The calculated trophic transfer factors in copepods were >1 for MeHg and consistently low (≤0.2) for Hg2+. The authors used the parameters measured to quantitatively model the relative importance of MeHg sources (water or diet) for copepods and to predict the overall MeHg concentrations in copepods in different marine environments. In general, MeHg uptake from the diet accounted for most of the body burden in copepods (>50%). For an algal diet with a MeHg dry weight bioconcentration factor ≥106, >90% of a copepod's MeHg body burden can be shown to derive from the diet. The model‐predicted MeHg concentrations in the copepods were comparable to independent measurements for copepods in coastal and open‐ocean regions, implying that the measured parameters and model are applicable to natural waters.Environ Toxicol Chem2017;36:1287–1293. © 2016 SETACmore » « less
-
Methylmercury (MeHg) is a neurotoxin that bioaccumulates to potentially harmful concentrations in Arctic and Subarctic marine predators and those that consume them. Monitoring and modeling MeHg bioaccumulation and biogeochemical cycling in the ocean requires an understanding of the mechanisms behind net mercury (Hg) methylation. The key functional gene pair for Hg methylation,hgcAB, is widely distributed throughout ocean basins and spans multiple microbial phyla. While multiple microbially mediated anaerobic pathways for Hg methylation in the ocean are known, the majority ofhgcAhomologs have been found in oxic subsurface waters, in contrast to other ecosystems. In particular, microaerophilicNitrospina, a genera of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria containing ahgcA-like sequence, have been proposed as a potentially important Hg methylator in the upper ocean. The objective of this work was therefore to examine the potential of nitrifiers as Hg methylators and quantify total Hg and MeHg across three Arctic and Subarctic seas (the Gulf of Alaska, the Bering Sea and the Chukchi Sea) in regions whereNitrospinaare likely present. In Spring 2021, samples for Hg analysis were obtained with a trace metal clean rosette across these seas. Mercury methylation rates were quantified in concert with nitrification rates using onboard incubation experiments with additions of stable isotope-labeled Hg and NH4+. A significant correlation between Hg methylation and nitrification was observed across all sites (R2= 0.34,p< 0.05), with the strongest correlation in the Chukchi Sea (R2= 0.99,p< 0.001).Nitrospina-specifichgcA-like genes were detected at all sites. This study, linking Hg methylation and nitrification in oxic seawater, furthers understanding of MeHg cycling in these high latitude waters, and the ocean in general. Furthermore, these studies inform predictions of how climate and human interactions could influence MeHg concentrations across the Arctic in the future.more » « less
-
Monitoring the impacts of global efforts to reduce mercury (Hg) emissions is limited by the collection of biological samples at appropriate spatiotemporal scales. This is especially true in the deep sea, a vast region with food webs that cycle bioaccumulative methylmercury (MeHg). Within a species, understanding the distribution of Hg across tissue types can reveal how Hg accumulates in the body and inform how useful a species is for biomonitoring geographic regions or vertical habitats of the ocean. We focus on a globally distributed deep-sea fish, the longnose lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox, n = 69 individuals), and measure total mercury (THg) and MeHg concentrations in 10 tissue types (brain, caudal white muscle, dorsal white muscle, gallbladder, gill filament, gonad, heart, intestine, liver, and stomach lining). Across all tissue types, THg and MeHg concentrations were higher in large lancetfish (≥1.8 kg) than small lancetfish (<1.8 kg), but concentrations were relatively stable within size classes. THg levels were highest in liver, intestine, and heart, followed by caudal white muscle, dorsal white muscle, stomach lining, and gill filament, then by gonad and gallbladder. We describe how ontogenetic diet shifts explain Hg bioaccumulation in pelagic predators inhabiting similar waters to lancetfish. We hypothesize that diet shifts to deeper-dwelling prey and fishes drive increases in THg and MeHg concentrations in large lancetfish. We propose lancetfish as a strong candidate for monitoring spatiotemporal variability of Hg in the deep pelagic – they are commonly captured in global fisheries and may reflect Hg sources in two distinct vertical habitats of the ocean.more » « less
-
Abstract Mercury (Hg) is a bioaccumulative neurotoxin that can concentrate to potentially harmful levels in higher levels of marine food webs following conversion to methylmercury (MeHg). This is of public health concern as seafood is a main protein source for many in the Pacific region. To better understand Hg partitioning and transformations in the Pacific Ocean, Hg species and phases were measured along a meridional section from Alaska to Tahiti in 2018. This allowed the description of Hg concentrations and speciation under a variety of biogeochemical conditions such as the Alaskan shelf, the oligotrophic North Pacific gyre, and near the hydrothermally active Loihi seamount. Filtered HgT concentrations were elevated below 1,000 m near the Loihi Seamount with an average concentration of 1.45 pM, possibly indicating enrichment from hydrothermal venting. Filtered MeHg concentrations were notably higher at depth at the equator and generally lower south of the equator. Total Hg in suspended particles was greatest in the upper 1,000 m near the Alaskan Shelf and decreased in concentration southward. Suspended particle MeHg was greatest in the surface ocean in the upper 300 m near the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). For both HgT and MeHg, particle‐associated concentrations appear to be related to organic fraction, and concentrations decreased southward. In general, all measured Hg species had greater concentrations in the northern than southern Pacific Ocean consistent with prior measurements.more » « less
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-023-02709-9
