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Variation of Total Mercury Concentrations in Different Tissues of Three Neotropical Caimans: Implications for Minimally Invasive Biomonitoring

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Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is a global environmental contaminant that affects ecosystems. It is known to biomagnify through food webs and to bioaccumulate especially in the tissues of top predators. Large-scale comparisons between taxa and geographic areas are needed to reveal critical trends related to Hg contamination and its deleterious effects on wildlife. Yet, the large variety of tissues (keratinized tissues, internal organs, blood) as well as the variability in the units used to express Hg concentrations (either in wet- or dry-tissue weight) limits straightforward comparisons between studies. In the present study, we assessed the moisture content that could influence the total Hg (THg) concentrations measured in several tissues (claws, scutes, total blood, and red blood cells) of three caiman species. We evaluated the moisture content from the different tissues to provide information on THg concentrations in various matrices. Our results show a difference of THg concentrations between the tissues and intra- and interspecific variations of moisture content, with the highest THg values found in keratinized tissues (scute keratinized layers and claws). For the three species, we found positive relationships between body size and THg concentration in keratinized tissues. In the blood, the relationship between body size and THg concentration was species-dependent. Our results emphasize the need for a standardized evaluation of THg concentration and trace elements quantification based on dry weight analytical procedures. In addition, the use of both blood and keratinized tissues offers the possibility to quantify different time scales of THg exposure by non-lethal sampling.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the authorities of Conseil Scientifique Régional du Patrimoine Naturel (CSRPN) and La Direction Générale des Territoires et de la Mer de Guyane (DGTM), which authorized our fieldwork. They also thank the teams of “Réserve Naturelle des Nouragues,” “Réserve Naturelle du Mont-Grand Matoury,” “Réserve Naturelle Trésor,” “Réserve Naturelle de la Trinité,” “Réserve Naturelle de Kaw-Roura,” “Pripis de Yiyi,” the Conservatoire du Littoral, F. Starace, T. LePape, F. Beau, L. Beau and P. Gaucher for their help in the field, and E. Courtois, M. Dewynter, and Q. Martinez for providing samples. This work was supported by the Office de l’Eau de Guyane; the Office Française pour la Biodiversité, the Direction Générale des Territoires et de la Mer de Guyane, the Parc Zoologique de Paris, the Fondation d’entreprise Hermès and the CNRS. Thanks to C. Churlaud and M. Brault-Favrou from the “Plateforme Analyses Elémentaires” of LIENSs for their assistance during mercury analyses. The Institut Universitaire de France (IUF) is acknowledged for its support to P. Bustamante as a Senior Member. Thanks to the Nouragues Research Field Station (managed by CNRS) which benefits from “Investissement d’Avenir” grant managed by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (AnaEE France ANR-11-INBS-0001; Labex CEBA ANR-10-LABX-25-01), and its team for assistance in the field.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre d’Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers en Bois, France

    Jérémy Lemaire & François Brischoux

  2. Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France

    Jérémy Lemaire & Paco Bustamante

  3. Parc Zoologique de Paris, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 53 Avenue de Saint Maurice, 75012, Paris, France

    Olivier Marquis

  4. Haus des Meeres Aqua Terra Zoo GmbH, Fritz-Grünbaum Platz 1, 1060, Vienna, Austria

    Rosanna Mangione

  5. Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 Rue Descartes, 75005, Paris, France

    Paco Bustamante

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  1. Jérémy Lemaire
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  2. François Brischoux
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  3. Olivier Marquis
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  4. Rosanna Mangione
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  5. Paco Bustamante
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Contributions

JL, FB, OM, RM, PB conceived and designed experiments. JL, FB performed statistical analysis. JL performed chemical analysis. JL, FB, OM, RM, PB wrote the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jérémy Lemaire.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no competing interests to declare.

Ethics Approval

Permission to capture individuals, draw blood and sample claws and scutes was granted by the French authorities (Direction Régionale des Territoires et de la Mer) after evaluation by the CSRPN, the regional scientific committee (Permit: R03-2016–06-21–010; R03-2019–01-09–001; R03-2019–10-24–007, www.guyane.developpement-durable.gouv.fr)

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Data are available from the corresponding author (jeremy.lemaire@univ-lr.fr).

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Lemaire, J., Brischoux, F., Marquis, O. et al. Variation of Total Mercury Concentrations in Different Tissues of Three Neotropical Caimans: Implications for Minimally Invasive Biomonitoring. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 81, 15–24 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-021-00846-y

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