Trace elements' reference levels in blood of breeding black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophris from the Falkland Islands.

Ricardo Furtado,Eduarda Pereira,Mónica Silva,Letizia Campioni,José Pedro Granadeiro,Paulo Catry

doi:10.1007/s11356-020-09928-1

Abstract

Trace elements' concentration in the ocean is fast growing and is a source of major concern. Being charismatic and at the top of food chains, seabirds are often used as biological monitors of contaminants. We studied the concentration of trace elements in blood of black-browed albatross from the Falklands Islands, which we here show, by tracking with geolocators, forage over most of the Patagonian Shelf. Levels of trace elements were measured in males and females from two different islands. Blood concentrations of trace elements were not significantly different between islands, which is consistent with observations from foraging behavior revealing that birds from both islands foraged in broadly the same areas in the months before sampling. Arsenic and selenium concentrations in females were higher than in males. Sex-related differences in the concentration of these elements may be related to unknown slight differences in diet or to differences in assimilation between sexes. These results provide reference values for monitoring elemental contamination in the Patagonian Shelf LargeMarine Ecosystem using black-browed albatrosses, one of the most abundant top predators and a suitable sentinel for the region's environmental health.

Highlights

Contamination by trace elements is growing at a fast pace and is an issue of major concern for the health of the environment and organisms (Scheuhammer 1987; Sánchez-Virosta et al 2015; Evers 2018; Preeti et al 2018)
The levels of trace elements measured in black-browed albatross blood in those two different islands should be indicative of contamination in this broad Patagonian Shelf region (Table 1)
The mean concentration of trace elements decreased in the following order: selenium > arsenic > copper > mercury > strontium > vanadium > manganese > cadmium > cobalt

Summary

Introduction

Contamination by trace elements is growing at a fast pace and is an issue of major concern for the health of the environment and organisms (Scheuhammer 1987; Sánchez-Virosta et al 2015; Evers 2018; Preeti et al 2018). Several trace elements (cobalt, copper, manganese, selenium, and vanadium) are essential components of physiological and biochemical processes of organisms (e.g., vertebrates), but beyond certain levels of concentration these elements become toxic (Abdulla and Chmielnicka 1990; Senesi et al 1999; Bansal and Asthana 2018). Others, such as arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and strontium, are poorly tolerated by the organisms and are usually considered as a non-essential elements for life and are known to be toxic even at low concentration levels (Naidu et al 1999; Senesi 1999; Bansal and Asthana 2018). Currents and mixing, including localized upwelling, contribute to resuspension of sediments and organic particles, resulting in a natural redistribution of trace elements, notably those behaving like

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