TY - JOUR
T1 - Mercury trends in herring gull (Larus argentatus) eggs from Atlantic Canada, 1972-2008
T2 - Temporal change or dietary shift?
AU - Burgess, Neil M.
AU - Bond, Alexander L.
AU - Hebert, Craig E.
AU - Neugebauer, Ewa
AU - Champoux, Louise
PY - 2013/1/1
Y1 - 2013/1/1
N2 - Mercury (Hg) is a pervasive contaminant that can adversely affect predatory wildlife. Bird eggs provide insights into breeding females' Hg burdens, and are easily collected and archived. We present data on Hg trends in herring gull (Larus argentatus) eggs from five sites in Atlantic Canada from 1972 to 2008. We found a significant decrease in Hg at Manawagonish Island, New Brunswick and Île du Corossol, Quebec, but after correcting Hg for dietary shifts using stable isotopes (δ15N), these trends disappeared. Decreasing temporal trends of stable isotopes in gull eggs were observed at four sites, suggesting shifts in gull diets. At Gull Island, Newfoundland, diet-adjusted Hg increased from 1977 to 1992, dropped sharply between 1992 and 1996, and rose again from 1996 to 2008. After adjusting Hg trends for dietary shifts of herring gulls, it appears that environmental Hg in coastal ecosystems has remained relatively constant at most sites in Atlantic Canada over the last 36 years.
AB - Mercury (Hg) is a pervasive contaminant that can adversely affect predatory wildlife. Bird eggs provide insights into breeding females' Hg burdens, and are easily collected and archived. We present data on Hg trends in herring gull (Larus argentatus) eggs from five sites in Atlantic Canada from 1972 to 2008. We found a significant decrease in Hg at Manawagonish Island, New Brunswick and Île du Corossol, Quebec, but after correcting Hg for dietary shifts using stable isotopes (δ15N), these trends disappeared. Decreasing temporal trends of stable isotopes in gull eggs were observed at four sites, suggesting shifts in gull diets. At Gull Island, Newfoundland, diet-adjusted Hg increased from 1977 to 1992, dropped sharply between 1992 and 1996, and rose again from 1996 to 2008. After adjusting Hg trends for dietary shifts of herring gulls, it appears that environmental Hg in coastal ecosystems has remained relatively constant at most sites in Atlantic Canada over the last 36 years.
KW - Atlantic
KW - Egg
KW - Herring gull
KW - Mercury
KW - Stable isotope
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84867235211&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84867235211&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2012.09.001
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2012.09.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 23063997
AN - SCOPUS:84867235211
SN - 0269-7491
VL - 172
SP - 216
EP - 222
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
ER -
