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Cusset F, Bustamante P, Carravieri A, Bertin C, Brasso R, Corsi I, Dunn M, Emmerson L, Guillou G, Hart T, Juáres M, Kato A, Machado-Gaye AL, Michelot C, Olmastroni S, Polito M, Raclot T, Santos M, Schmidt A, Southwell C, Soutullo A, Takahashi A, Thiebot JB, Trathan P, Vivion P, Waluda C, Fort J, Cherel Y. Circumpolar assessment of mercury contamination: the Adélie penguin as a bioindicator of Antarctic marine ecosystems. ECOTOXICOLOGY (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2023; 32:1024-1049. [PMID: 37878111 DOI: 10.1007/s10646-023-02709-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023]
Abstract
Due to its persistence and potential ecological and health impacts, mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant of major concern that may reach high concentrations even in remote polar oceans. In contrast to the Arctic Ocean, studies documenting Hg contamination in the Southern Ocean are spatially restricted and large-scale monitoring is needed. Here, we present the first circumpolar assessment of Hg contamination in Antarctic marine ecosystems. Specifically, the Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) was used as a bioindicator species, to examine regional variation across 24 colonies distributed across the entire Antarctic continent. Mercury was measured on body feathers collected from both adults (n = 485) and chicks (n = 48) between 2005 and 2021. Because penguins' diet represents the dominant source of Hg, feather δ13C and δ15N values were measured as proxies of feeding habitat and trophic position. As expected, chicks had lower Hg concentrations (mean ± SD: 0.22 ± 0.08 μg·g‒1) than adults (0.49 ± 0.23 μg·g‒1), likely because of their shorter bioaccumulation period. In adults, spatial variation in feather Hg concentrations was driven by both trophic ecology and colony location. The highest Hg concentrations were observed in the Ross Sea, possibly because of a higher consumption of fish in the diet compared to other sites (krill-dominated diet). Such large-scale assessments are critical to assess the effectiveness of the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Owing to their circumpolar distribution and their ecological role in Antarctic marine ecosystems, Adélie penguins could be valuable bioindicators for tracking spatial and temporal trends of Hg across Antarctic waters in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fanny Cusset
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France.
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France.
| | - Paco Bustamante
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
- Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), 1 rue Descartes, 75005, Paris, France
| | - Alice Carravieri
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Clément Bertin
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
| | - Rebecka Brasso
- Department of Zoology, Weber State University, Ogden, UT, USA
| | - Ilaria Corsi
- Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy
| | | | - Louise Emmerson
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Gaël Guillou
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
| | - Tom Hart
- Department of Biological and Medicinal Sciences, Oxford Brooke University, Oxford, UK
| | - Mariana Juáres
- Departamento Biología de Predadores Tope, Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Akiko Kato
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | | | - Candice Michelot
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
- Institut Maurice-Lamontagne, Pêches et Océans Canada, Mont-Joli, QC, Canada
| | - Silvia Olmastroni
- Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, 53100, Siena, Italy
- Museo Nazionale dell'Antartide, Siena, Italy
| | | | - Thierry Raclot
- Institut Pluridisciplinaire Hubert Curien, UMR 7178 du CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, 67087, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mercedes Santos
- Departamento Biología de Predadores Tope, Instituto Antártico Argentino, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Colin Southwell
- Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Antarctic Division, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Alvaro Soutullo
- Centro Universitario Regional del Este, Universidad de la República, Maldonado, Uruguay
| | - Akinori Takahashi
- National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 190-8518, Japan
| | - Jean-Baptiste Thiebot
- National Institute of Polar Research, 10-3 Midori-cho, Tachikawa, Tokyo, 190-8518, Japan
- Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, Minato-cho 3-1-1, Hakodate, 041-8611, Japan
| | | | - Pierre Vivion
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
| | | | - Jérôme Fort
- Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 2 Rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France
| | - Yves Cherel
- Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC), UMR 7372 du CNRS - La Rochelle Université, 79360, Villiers-en-Bois, France
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Shuert CR, Hussey NE, Marcoux M, Heide-Jørgensen MP, Dietz R, Auger-Méthé M. Divergent migration routes reveal contrasting energy-minimization strategies to deal with differing resource predictability. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:31. [PMID: 37280701 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00397-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/30/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Seasonal long-distance movements are a common feature in many taxa allowing animals to deal with seasonal habitats and life-history demands. Many species use different strategies to prioritize time- or energy-minimization, sometimes employing stop-over behaviours to offset the physiological burden of the directed movement associated with migratory behaviour. Migratory strategies are often limited by life-history and environmental constraints, but can also be modulated by the predictability of resources en route. While theory on population-wide strategies (e.g. energy-minimization) are well studied, there are increasing evidence for individual-level variation in movement patterns indicative of finer scale differences in migration strategies. METHODS We aimed to explore sources of individual variation in migration strategies for long-distance migrators using satellite telemetry location data from 41 narwhal spanning a 21-year period. Specifically, we aimed to determine and define the long-distance movement strategies adopted and how environmental variables may modulate these movements. Fine-scale movement behaviours were characterized using move-persistence models, where changes in move-persistence, highlighting autocorrelation in a movement trajectory, were evaluated against potential modulating environmental covariates. Areas of low move-persistence, indicative of area-restricted search-type behaviours, were deemed to indicate evidence of stop-overs along the migratory route. RESULTS Here, we demonstrate two divergent migratory tactics to maintain a similar overall energy-minimization strategy within a single population of narwhal. Narwhal migrating offshore exhibited more tortuous movement trajectories overall with no evidence of spatially-consistent stop-over locations across individuals. Nearshore migrating narwhal undertook more directed routes, contrasted by spatially-explicit stop-over behaviour in highly-productive fjord and canyon systems along the coast of Baffin Island for periods of several days to several weeks. CONCLUSIONS Within a single population, divergent migratory tactics can achieve a similar overall energy-minimizing strategy within a species as a response to differing trade-offs between predictable and unpredictable resources. Our methodological approach, which revealed the modulators of fine-scale migratory movements and predicted regional stop-over sites, is widely applicable to a variety of other aquatic and terrestrial species. Quantifying marine migration strategies will be key for adaptive conservation in the face of climate change and ever increasing human pressures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney R Shuert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada.
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada.
| | - Nigel E Hussey
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, N9B 3P4, Canada
| | - Marianne Marcoux
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada
| | | | - Rune Dietz
- Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Marie Auger-Méthé
- Institute for the Oceans & Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
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Florko KRN, Shuert CR, Cheung WWL, Ferguson SH, Jonsen ID, Rosen DAS, Sumaila UR, Tai TC, Yurkowski DJ, Auger-Méthé M. Linking movement and dive data to prey distribution models: new insights in foraging behaviour and potential pitfalls of movement analyses. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:17. [PMID: 36959671 PMCID: PMC10037791 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-023-00377-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Animal movement data are regularly used to infer foraging behaviour and relationships to environmental characteristics, often to help identify critical habitat. To characterize foraging, movement models make a set of assumptions rooted in theory, for example, time spent foraging in an area increases with higher prey density. METHODS We assessed the validity of these assumptions by associating horizontal movement and diving of satellite-telemetered ringed seals (Pusa hispida)-an opportunistic predator-in Hudson Bay, Canada, to modelled prey data and environmental proxies. RESULTS Modelled prey biomass data performed better than their environmental proxies (e.g., sea surface temperature) for explaining seal movement; however movement was not related to foraging effort. Counter to theory, seals appeared to forage more in areas with relatively lower prey diversity and biomass, potentially due to reduced foraging efficiency in those areas. CONCLUSIONS Our study highlights the need to validate movement analyses with prey data to effectively estimate the relationship between prey availability and foraging behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie R N Florko
- Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
| | - Courtney R Shuert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON, Canada
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - William W L Cheung
- Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Steven H Ferguson
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Ian D Jonsen
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - David A S Rosen
- Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - U Rashid Sumaila
- Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Travis C Tai
- Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - David J Yurkowski
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Freshwater Institute, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
| | - Marie Auger-Méthé
- Aquatic Ecosystem Research Laboratory, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Department of Statistics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Allegue H, Réale D, Picard B, Guinet C. Track and dive-based movement metrics do not predict the number of prey encountered by a marine predator. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:3. [PMID: 36681811 PMCID: PMC9862577 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00361-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Studying animal movement in the context of the optimal foraging theory has led to the development of simple movement metrics for inferring feeding activity. Yet, the predictive capacity of these metrics in natural environments has been given little attention, raising serious questions of the validity of these metrics. The aim of this study is to test whether simple continuous movement metrics predict feeding intensity in a marine predator, the southern elephant seal (SES; Mirounga leonine), and investigate potential factors influencing the predictive capacity of these metrics. METHODS We equipped 21 female SES from the Kerguelen Archipelago with loggers and recorded their movements during post-breeding foraging trips at sea. From accelerometry, we estimated the number of prey encounter events (nPEE) and used it as a reference for feeding intensity. We also extracted several track- and dive-based movement metrics and evaluated how well they explain and predict the variance in nPEE. We conducted our analysis at two temporal scales (dive and day), with two dive profile resolutions (high at 1 Hz and low with five dive segments), and two types of models (linear models and regression trees). RESULTS We found that none of the movement metrics predict nPEE with satisfactory power. The vertical transit rates (primarily the ascent rate) during dives had the best predictive performance among all metrics. Dive metrics performed better than track metrics and all metrics performed on average better at the scale of days than the scale of dives. However, the performance of the models at the scale of days showed higher variability among individuals suggesting distinct foraging tactics. Dive-based metrics performed better when computed from high-resolution dive profiles than low-resolution dive profiles. Finally, regression trees produced more accurate predictions than linear models. CONCLUSIONS Our study reveals that simple movement metrics do not predict feeding activity in free-ranging marine predators. This could emerge from differences between individuals, temporal scales, and the data resolution used, among many other factors. We conclude that these simple metrics should be avoided or carefully tested a priori with the studied species and the ecological context to account for significant influencing factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hassen Allegue
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Baptiste Picard
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Christophe Guinet
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR7372 CNRS-La Rochelle Université, Villiers en Bois, France
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