Intraspecific Variation in Mercury, δ15 N, and δ13 C Among 3 Adélie Penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) Populations in the Northern Antarctic Peninsula Region.

Mercury (Hg) is a pervasive environmental contaminant that accumulates in the organs and tissues of seabirds at concentrations capable of causing acute or long-term adverse health effects. In the present study, Hg concentrations in Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) egg membranes and chick feathers served as a proxy for Hg bioavailability in the marine environment surrounding the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Stable isotopes were measured in conjunction with Hg to infer information regarding feeding habits (δ15 N, diet/trophic level; δ13 C, foraging habitat). The Hg concentrations were low relative to toxicity benchmark values associated with adverse health effects in birds and ranged between 0.006 and 0.080 µg g-1 dry weight (n = 65) in egg membranes and 0.140 to 1.05 µg g-1 fresh weight (n = 38) in feathers. Egg membrane δ15 N signatures suggested that females from different breeding colonies had similar diets consisting of lower and higher trophic prey prior to arrival to breeding grounds. In contrast, δ15 N signatures in feathers indicated that chick diet varied by colony. The Hg concentrations demonstrated significant positive relationships with δ15 N, providing support for the hypothesis of Hg biomagnification up the food chain. The δ13 C signatures in both tissue types provided evidence of foraging habitat segregation among populations. The differences in Hg exposure and foraging ecology suggest that each colony has localized foraging behaviors by breeding adults that warrant additional investigation. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:2791-2801. © 2021 SETAC.

Acute Toxicity of [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] to the Golden Mussel Limnoperna fortunei (Dunker 1857).

In this study we test the sensitivity of three sizes of golden mussel (Limnoperna fortunei), an introduced species in Argentina, to a 96-h exposure to [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text]. We also analysed the relative sensitivity of L. fortunei compared to other freshwater bivalve equivalent sensitivity data. The ANOVA results showed that both factors, heavy metal and size, had significant effects (p = 0.0013 and p = 0.0091, respectively) on the mortality of the golden mussel. Tukey's test showed significant differences for [Formula: see text] treatment and the smallest size class (7 mm [Formula: see text]). The relative sensitivity analysis showed that [Formula: see text] values for the smallest size class of L. fortunei exposed to [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] were in the low range, with values of 11.40 mg/L and 12.65 mg/L, respectively. In the case of [Formula: see text] (1.66 mg/L), its [Formula: see text] was in the medium-low range of the freshwater bivalve sensitivity distribution.