Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that accumulates in organisms and biomagnifies along food webs; hence, long‐lived predators such as seabirds are at risk as a result of high Hg bioaccumulation. Seabirds have been widely used to monitor the contamination of marine ecosystems. In the present study, we investigated Hg concentrations in blood, muscle, and feathers of 7 procellariform seabirds breeding on the Chatham Islands, New Zealand. Using bulk and compound‐specific stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen as a proxy of trophic position and distribution, we also tested whether Hg contamination is related to the species‐specific feeding ecology. Mercury exposure varied widely within the seabird community. The highest contaminated species, the Magenta petrel, had approximately 29 times more Hg in its blood than the broad‐billed prion, and approximately 35 times more Hg in its feathers than the grey‐backed storm petrel. Variations of Hg concentrations in blood and feathers were significantly and positively linked to feeding habitats and trophic position, highlighting the occurrence of efficient Hg biomagnification processes along the food web. Species and feeding habitats were the 2 main drivers of Hg exposure within the seabird community. The Pterodroma species had high blood and feather Hg concentrations, which can be caused by their specific physiology and/or because of their foraging behavior during the interbreeding period (i.e., from the Tasman Sea to the Humboldt Current system). These 2 threatened species are at risk of suffering detrimental effects from Hg contamination and further studies are required to investigate potential negative impacts, especially on their reproduction capability. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:454–472. © 2020 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

中文翻译：

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特定物种摄食生态对新西兰查塔姆群岛海鸟繁殖中汞浓度的影响

汞 (Hg) 是一种有毒金属，可在生物体内积累并沿食物网进行生物放大；因此，海鸟等长寿捕食者因高汞生物积累而处于危险之中。海鸟已被广泛用于监测海洋生态系统的污染。在本研究中，我们调查了在新西兰查塔姆群岛繁殖的 7 只原虫状海鸟的血液、肌肉和羽毛中的汞浓度。使用大量和化合物特定的碳和氮的稳定同位素比率作为营养位置和分布的代表，我们还测试了汞污染是否与特定物种的摄食生态有关。海鸟群落中的汞暴露情况差异很大。受污染最严重的品红海燕，其血液中的汞含量是阔嘴朊病毒的 29 倍，它的羽毛中的汞含量是灰背海燕的约 35 倍。血液和羽毛中汞浓度的变化与觅食栖息地和营养位置显着正相关，突出了沿食物网发生的有效汞生物放大过程。物种和觅食栖息地是海鸟群落内汞暴露的两个主要驱动因素。这翼龙属物种的血液和羽毛汞浓度很高，这可能是由于它们的特定生理机能和/或它们在杂交期间（即从塔斯曼海到洪堡海流系统）的觅食行为造成的。这 2 种受威胁物种有可能受到汞污染的不利影响，需要进一步研究以调查潜在的负面影响，尤其是对其繁殖能力的影响。环境毒理学化学2021；40：454-472。© 2020 作者。环境毒理学和化学由 Wiley Periodicals LLC 代表 SETAC 出版。