Mercury contamination is an invisible threat to declining migratory shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway

Ma，Yanju1,2,3; Choi，Chi Yeung1,4; Shang，Lihai5; Klaassen，Marcel6; Ma，Zhijun7; Chang，Qing8; Jaspers，Veerle L.B.9; Bai，Qingquan10; He，Tao11; Leung，Katherine K.S.12; Hassell，Chris J.13; Jessop，Roz14; Gibson，Luke1

2024-12-01

10.1038/s42003-024-06254-x

Communications Biology   影响因子和分区

2399-3642

Exposure to pollutants is a potentially crucial but overlooked driver of population declines in shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. We combined knowledge of moult strategy and life history with a standardised sampling protocol to assess mercury (Hg) contamination in 984 individuals across 33 migratory shorebird species on an intercontinental scale. Over one-third of the samples exceeded toxicity benchmarks. Feather Hg was best explained by moulting region, while habitat preference (coastal obligate vs. non-coastal obligate), the proportion of invertebrates in the diet and foraging stratum (foraging mostly on the surface vs. at depth) also contributed, but were less pronounced. Feather Hg was substantially higher in South China (Mai Po and Leizhou), Australia and the Yellow Sea than in temperate and Arctic breeding ranges. Non-coastal obligate species (Tringa genus) frequently encountered in freshwater habitats were at the highest risk. It is important to continue and expand biomonitoring research to assess how other pollutants might impact shorebirds.

SCI

英语

第一

2-s2.0-85193461401

Scopus

1.School of Environmental Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,China
2.Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection (Guangxi Normal University),Ministry of Education,Guilin,Guangxi,541006,China
3.Guangxi Key Laboratory of Rare and Endangered Animal Ecology,College of Life Sciences,Guangxi Normal University,Guilin,Guangxi,541006,China
4.Environmental Research Center,Duke Kunshan University,Kunshan,Jiangsu,215316,China
5.State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry,Institute of Geochemistry,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Guiyang,Guizhou,550081,China
6.School of Life and Environmental Sciences,Deakin University,Geelong,Australia
7.Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Ecological Engineering,Coastal Ecosystems Research Station of the Yangtze River Estuary,Institute of Biodiversity Science,School of Life Sciences,Fudan University,Shanghai,200433,China
8.Nanjing Normal University,Nanjing,Jiangsu,210024,China
9.Department of Biology,Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU),Trondheim,7491,Norway
10.Dandong Forestry and Grassland Development Service Center,Dandong,Liaoning,118000,China
11.Zhanjiang Mangrove National Nature Reserve Bureau,Guangdong,Zhangjiang,524000,China
12.Hong Kong Waterbirds Ringing Group,Mai Po Nature Reserve, Mai Po,Hong Kong
13.Australian Wader Studies Group,Curtin,2605,Australia
14.Victorian Wader Study Group,Thornbury,3071,Australia

Ma，Yanju,Choi，Chi Yeung,Shang，Lihai,et al. Mercury contamination is an invisible threat to declining migratory shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway[J]. Communications Biology,2024,7(1).

Ma，Yanju.,Choi，Chi Yeung.,Shang，Lihai.,Klaassen，Marcel.,Ma，Zhijun.,...&Gibson，Luke.(2024).Mercury contamination is an invisible threat to declining migratory shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.Communications Biology,7(1).

Ma，Yanju,et al."Mercury contamination is an invisible threat to declining migratory shorebirds along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway".Communications Biology 7.1(2024).