Mercury in white-tailed eagle nestlings from northern Norway (2013-2018): Toxicity risk and dietary drivers of exposure

[en] Mercury (Hg) pollution is a global environmental problem. Hg exposure is linked to adverse health effects such as neurotoxicity and reproductive impairments, making monitoring crucial for assessing toxicity risks to humans and wildlife. Top predators, such as the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), are excellent biomonitors of environmental contamination due to their susceptibility of accumulating high levels of biomagnifying pollutants like Hg. In this study, body feathers of white-tailed eagle nestlings (n = 217) were sampled in northern Norway in 2013-2018. Feathers were analyzed for total Hg (THg) concentrations and stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) to explore the influence of dietary ecology on Hg exposure. THg concentrations ranged between 0.96-4.85 μg g-1, with approximately 11% of the chicks exceeding 3.9 μg g-1, the threshold value considered moderate risk for toxic effects. THg concentrations were similar across years, except for 2015, which had significantly higher levels; however, isotope values did not differ between years, suggesting this was not driven by dietary shifts. We found a significant and positive relationship between THg concentrations and δ15N, supporting the biomagnifying property of Hg. Similarly, we detected a significant positive THg-δ13C relationship, indicating higher Hg exposure with a more marine diet. We also found a significant and negative relationship between THg and wing length (age proxy), suggesting younger chicks have higher Hg concentrations than older chicks, likely due to mass dilution during chick growth. This study improves our understanding of Hg exposure and risk in a top predator along the Norwegian coast.

Research Center/Unit :

FOCUS - Freshwater and OCeanic science Unit of reSearch - ULiège

Disciplines :

Environmental sciences & ecology

Author, co-author :

Hansen, Elisabeth

Johnsen, Trond V.

Løseth, Mari E.

Jaspers, Veerle L.B.

Søndergaard, Jens

Lepoint, Gilles ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de Biologie, Ecologie et Evolution

Eulaers, Igor

Bustnes, Jan Ove

Language :

English

Title :

Mercury in white-tailed eagle nestlings from northern Norway (2013-2018): Toxicity risk and dietary drivers of exposure

Publication date :

June 2025

Journal title :

Environmental Research

ISSN :

0013-9351

eISSN :

1096-0953

Publisher :

Elsevier

Pages :

122102

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Development Goals :

15. Life on land

Additional URL :

https://api.elsevier.com/content/article/PII:S0013935125013532?httpAccept=text/xml

Funders :

Norges Forskningsråd
RCN - Research Council of Norway

Funding number :

#230465; #255681

Funding text :

projects funded by the Research Council of Norway: The NewRaptor project (#230465), led by Prof. Dr. Veerle L. B. Jaspers, and the Ecostress project (#255681), led by Dr. Jan Ove Bustnes.

Available on ORBi :

since 07 June 2025

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