title: Unique pattern of molt leads to low intraindividual variation in feather mercury concentrations in penguins.
abstract: The authors hypothesized that the catastrophic annual molt of penguins (Sphenisciformes) would lead to reduced intraindividual variation of mercury concentrations in body feathers. While mean mercury concentrations varied significantly among 8 penguin species, intraindividual variability did not differ among species and was 3 times lower than values observed in other seabirds. The findings of the present study suggest that a single body feather collected at random per individual can be adequate to estimate mercury exposure at the population level in penguins.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. rlb1196@uncw.edu
authors.forename: Rebecka L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Brasso
authors.forename: Bridgette E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Drummond
authors.forename: Stuart R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Borrett
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chiaradia
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Polito
authors.forename: Andrea Raya
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Rey
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001822:Body Burden; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005241:Feathers / Q000737:chemistry*; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D018978:Molting; D046429:Spheniscidae / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Biomarkers; Biomonitoring; Feather; Mercury; Penguin