title: Wandering albatrosses document latitudinal variations in the transfer of persistent organic pollutants and mercury to Southern Ocean predators.
abstract: Top marine predators are effective tools to monitor bioaccumulative contaminants in remote oceanic environments. Here, we used the wide-ranging wandering albatross Diomedea exulans to investigate potential geographical variations of contaminant transfer to predators in the Southern Ocean. Blood concentrations of 19 persistent organic pollutants and 14 trace elements were measured in a large number of individuals (N = 180) of known age, sex and breeding status from the subantarctic Crozet Islands. Wandering albatrosses were exposed to a wide range of contaminants, with notably high blood mercury concentrations. Contaminant burden was markedly influenced by latitudinal foraging habitats (inferred from blood δ(13)C values), with individuals feeding in warmer subtropical waters having lower concentrations of pesticides, but higher concentrations of mercury, than those feeding in colder subantarctic waters. Sexual differences in contaminant burden seemed to be driven by gender specialization in feeding habitats, rather than physiological characteristics, with females foraging further north than males. Other individual traits, such as adult age and reproductive status, had little effect on blood contaminant concentrations. Our study provides further evidence of the critical role of global distillation on organic contaminant exposure to Southern Ocean avian predators. In addition, we document an unexpected high transfer of mercury to predators in subtropical waters, which merits further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 CNRS- Université de La Rochelle , 79360 Villiers-en-Bois, France.
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carravieri
authors.forename: Paco
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bustamante
authors.forename: Sabrina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tartu
authors.forename: Alizée
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meillère
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Labadie
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Budzinski
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Peluhet
authors.forename: Christophe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barbraud
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Weimerskirch
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Chastel
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cherel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000097:blood; D001717:Birds / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D017753:Ecosystem; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000097:blood; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000097:blood*; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012098:Reproduction; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C511295:2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether; D001151:Arsenic