Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring

Mercury (Hg), a persistent potent neurotoxin, poses a serious hazard to human and wildlife health. Although highly elevated concentrations were documented in the environmental compartments of China, very few investigations were conducted regarding Hg bioaccumulation in terrestrial vertebrates, parti...

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Autores principales:	Yanju Ma, Wen Zheng, Yuxin An, Lianghua Chen, Qing Xu, Aiwu Jiang
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Elsevier 2021
Materias:	Bioindicator Bioaccumulation Feather Methylmercury Heavy metal Predator Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ef1ead90cd7f49cda8d516408e7c8a77
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ef1ead90cd7f49cda8d516408e7c8a772021-12-01T04:59:18ZMercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring1470-160X10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.108108https://doaj.org/article/ef1ead90cd7f49cda8d516408e7c8a772021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttp://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X21007731https://doaj.org/toc/1470-160XMercury (Hg), a persistent potent neurotoxin, poses a serious hazard to human and wildlife health. Although highly elevated concentrations were documented in the environmental compartments of China, very few investigations were conducted regarding Hg bioaccumulation in terrestrial vertebrates, particularly avian species at the top trophic position. To assess to what degree the predatory raptors are subject to Hg contamination, we measured feather Hg concentrations from two diurnal raptors, two nocturnal owls, and one predatory passerine, collected from Northeast China. Results showed that the feather Hg concentrations were not greater than 3.67 mg/kg. Notably, there is a significant difference in feather Hg among species: Brown Shrike > Amur Falcon = Common Kestrel > Long-eared Owl > Little Owl. Brown Shrike had the highest feather Hg (1.27 ± 0.91 mg/kg), approximately three times higher compared to the diurnal predators (0.41 ± 0.33 mg/kg), and about seven-folds higher than the owls (0.18 ± 0.19 mg/kg). There were no differences in Hg concentrations between the tips of primary and tail feathers, but their correlations were significantly positive (between 0.45 and 0.96). Overall, the primary Hg = 0.15 + 0.74 × tail Hg (R2 = 0.61). Specifically, a great correlation between the primaries and tails in owls, while a weaker but significant correlation found in falcons/shrikes, provides insight into Hg content in feather tracts for biomonitoring. Our research is among the few studies regarding Hg contamination in the terrestrial predatory avian population in China. We discussed the influencing factors, the ecotoxicological risks to the terrestrial/marine avian population, and the limitations of this research.Yanju MaWen ZhengYuxin AnLianghua ChenQing XuAiwu JiangElsevierarticleBioindicatorBioaccumulationFeatherMethylmercuryHeavy metalPredatorEcologyQH540-549.5ENEcological Indicators, Vol 130, Iss , Pp 108108- (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Bioindicator Bioaccumulation Feather Methylmercury Heavy metal Predator Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	Bioindicator Bioaccumulation Feather Methylmercury Heavy metal Predator Ecology QH540-549.5 Yanju Ma Wen Zheng Yuxin An Lianghua Chen Qing Xu Aiwu Jiang Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring
description	Mercury (Hg), a persistent potent neurotoxin, poses a serious hazard to human and wildlife health. Although highly elevated concentrations were documented in the environmental compartments of China, very few investigations were conducted regarding Hg bioaccumulation in terrestrial vertebrates, particularly avian species at the top trophic position. To assess to what degree the predatory raptors are subject to Hg contamination, we measured feather Hg concentrations from two diurnal raptors, two nocturnal owls, and one predatory passerine, collected from Northeast China. Results showed that the feather Hg concentrations were not greater than 3.67 mg/kg. Notably, there is a significant difference in feather Hg among species: Brown Shrike > Amur Falcon = Common Kestrel > Long-eared Owl > Little Owl. Brown Shrike had the highest feather Hg (1.27 ± 0.91 mg/kg), approximately three times higher compared to the diurnal predators (0.41 ± 0.33 mg/kg), and about seven-folds higher than the owls (0.18 ± 0.19 mg/kg). There were no differences in Hg concentrations between the tips of primary and tail feathers, but their correlations were significantly positive (between 0.45 and 0.96). Overall, the primary Hg = 0.15 + 0.74 × tail Hg (R2 = 0.61). Specifically, a great correlation between the primaries and tails in owls, while a weaker but significant correlation found in falcons/shrikes, provides insight into Hg content in feather tracts for biomonitoring. Our research is among the few studies regarding Hg contamination in the terrestrial predatory avian population in China. We discussed the influencing factors, the ecotoxicological risks to the terrestrial/marine avian population, and the limitations of this research.
format	article
author	Yanju Ma Wen Zheng Yuxin An Lianghua Chen Qing Xu Aiwu Jiang
author_facet	Yanju Ma Wen Zheng Yuxin An Lianghua Chen Qing Xu Aiwu Jiang
author_sort	Yanju Ma
title	Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring
title_short	Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring
title_full	Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring
title_fullStr	Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring
title_full_unstemmed	Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring
title_sort	mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from northeast china: implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring
publisher	Elsevier
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ef1ead90cd7f49cda8d516408e7c8a77
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Mercury contamination in terrestrial predatory birds from Northeast China: Implications for species and feather type selection for biomonitoring

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