Table 4. An overall synthesis of Hg concentrations (means ± SD with ranges in parentheses; µg•g−1 dry mass) in body feathers of seabird chicks.
| Species | Location | n | Total Hg | References |
| Spheniscidae | ||||
| Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) | Terra Nova Bay (Antarctica) | 11 | 0.37±0.15 | [67] |
| Diomedeidae | ||||
| Wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) | Bird Island (South Georgia) | 10 | 3.31±0.68 | [37] |
| Black-footed albatross (Phoebastria nigripes) | Midway Atoll | 17 | 5.57±0.36a | [40], [68] |
| Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) | Midway Atoll | 35 | 2.15±0.12a | [40], [68] |
| 15 | 1.95±0.15a | [69] | ||
| Procellariidae | ||||
| Barau’s petrel (Pterodroma baraui) | La Réunion | 32 | 0.30±0.07 | [41] |
| Bonin petrel (Pterodroma hypoleuca) | Midway Atoll | 20 | 3.87±0.32a | [40], [70] |
| Audubon’s shearwater (Puffinus lherminieri) | La Réunion | 38 | 0.07±0.01 | [41] |
| Aride Island (Seychelles) | 10, 8 | 0.15±0.03, 0.27±0.06 | [38] | |
| Pink-footed shearwater (Puffinus creatopus) | Mocha Island (Chile) | 8 | 0.36±0.10 | [71] |
| Sooty shearwater (Puffinus griseus) | Humboldt Current (Peru) | 14 | 0.72±0.35 | [72] |
| New Zealand Region | 4 | 0.8±0.8 | [35] | |
| Wedge-tailed shearwater (Puffinus pacificus) | Aride Island (Seychelles) | 10 | 0.39±0.05 | [38] |
| Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) | Azores | 14 | 0.87±0.10a (0.33–1.5) | [73] |
| 30 | 0.7±0.2 | [74] | ||
| Berlengas (Portugal) | 25 | 1.1±0.3 | [74] | |
| Hydrobatidae | ||||
| Leach’s storm-petrel (Oceanodroma leucorhoa) | New Brunswick (Canada) | 20 | 1.42 (0.90–2.22)b | [75] |
| Phaethontidae | ||||
| Red-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon rubricauda) | Midway Atoll | 12 | 2.51±0.28a | [40], [70] |
| White-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus) | La Réunion | 16 | 0.29±0.02 | [41] |
| Aride Island (Seychelles) | 10, 10 | 0.52±0.11, 0.70±0.10 | [38] | |
| Phalacrocoracidae | ||||
| European shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) | Atlantic sector (Spain) | 20, 12 | from 0.54±0.19 to 1.07±0.38 | [76] |
| Cantabrian sector (Spain) | 15, 10 | 3.09±1.40, 5.09±1.82 | [76] | |
| Stercorariidae | ||||
| Great skua (Catharacta skua) | Foula (Shetland) | 40 | 1.3±0.4 | [54] |
| 28 | 1.22±0.38 | [77] | ||
| 29 | 2.16±1.15 | [53] | ||
| St Kilda (Outer Hebrides) | 22 | 5.37±1.29 | [53] | |
| Arctic skua (Stercorarius parasiticus) | Foula (Shetland) | 30 | 0.46±0.22 | [77] |
| Laridae | ||||
| Audoin’s gull (Larus audouinii) | Dodecanese (Greece) | 20, 10 | from 0.94±0.27 (0.61–1.46) to 1.71±0.48 (0.32–2.55) | [78] |
| Cyclade (Greece) | 20, 10 | from 1.42±0.29 (0.88–2.04) to 2.02±0.38 (1.13–2.45) | [78] | |
| Kythera (Greece) | 8 | 1.20±0.33 (0.76–1.77) | [78] | |
| Ebro Delta (Western Mediterranean) | 39 | 5.09 (4.68–5.54)d | [79] | |
| Alboran Island (Western Mediterranean) | 15 | 3.87 (3.28–4.57)d | [79] | |
| Chafarinas Islands (Western Mediterranean) | 12 | 3.17 (2.31–4.35)d | [79] | |
| Black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus) | German North Sea | 36 | 0.88±0.53 (0.14–2.11), 0.94±0.45 (0.10–2.07) | [80] |
| Common gull (Larus canus) | Elbe estuary (German North Sea) | 12 | 2.24±1.84 | [81] |
| Jade Bay (German North Sea) | 11 | 1.40±0.37 | [81] | |
| Franklin’s gull (Larus pipixcan) | Interior U.S.A. | ≥79 | 0.80±0.06a | [82] |
| Minnesota | 15 | 0.31±0.11a | [83] | |
| Glaucous-winged gull (Larus glaucescens) | Aleutian Islands | 36 | 1.98±0.18a | [84] |
| Herring gull (Larus argentatus) | New York | 15, 20, 15 | 0.81±0.12, 1.80±0.11, 2.83±0.27a | [85], [86] |
| New Jersey | 14, 15 | 1.76±0.35, 2.58±0.23a | [86] | |
| Virginia | 15 | 0.76±0.11a | [86] | |
| German North Sea | 38 | 5.88±4.90 (0.78–27.14) | [87], [88] | |
| 39 | 1.27±0.60 (0.47–2.98), 1.31±0.62 (0.49–2.89) | [80] | ||
| Shetland | 12 | 2.24±0.83 (1.04–4.12) | [88] | |
| Red-billed gull (Larus novaehollandiae) | Kaikoura Peninsula (New Zealand) | 27 | 2.02±1.16 | [89] |
| Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis atlantis) | Azores | 34 | 2.3±1.0 | [74] |
| Madeira | 22 | 2.6±0.8 | [74] | |
| Berlengas (Portugal) | 28 | 2.4±0.5 | [74] | |
| Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) | Foula (Shetland) | 26 | 0.37±0.12 | [77] |
| Shetland | 9 | 0.49±0.28 (0.26–1.03) | [88] | |
| German North Sea | 13 | 2.65±0.61 (1.61–3.64) | [88] | |
| Northeast Norway | 27 | 0.55±0.10 | [89] | |
| Sternidae | ||||
| Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea) | Foula (Shetland) | 15 | 0.69±0.14 | [77] |
| Common tern (Sterna hirundo) | Bird island (Massachusetts) | 21 | 3.1±0.2a | [90] |
| 15 | 4.2±3.1 | [91] | ||
| Long Island (New York) | 16 | 1.4±0.6 (0.6–2.6) | [92] | |
| 14, 21 | 2.01±0.25, 2.61±2.55a | [93] | ||
| German North Sea | 21 | 6.14±4.33 (1.51–18.40) | [87] | |
| 13 | 3.00±0.50 (1.97–3.74), 3.26±0.70 (2.41–4.91) | [80] | ||
| 27 | 12.89±6.90 (1.51–70.00) | [88] | ||
| Elbe estuary (German North Sea) | 4 | 36.4±18.9 (21.7–62.9) | [88] | |
| Jadebusen (German North Sea) | 9 | 3.8±0.7 (2.9–5.1) | [88] | |
| East Scotland | 19 | 1.80±0.79 (0.92–3.11) | [88] | |
| Shetland | 12 | 1.40±0.72 (0.84–2.95) | [88] | |
| Azores | 10, 19 | from 1.1±0.4 to 1.5±0.4 | [74] | |
| Forster’s tern (Sterna forsteri) | San Francisco Bay | 89 | 6.44±0.28d | [94] |
| Little tern (Sterna albifrons) | Portugal | 168 | 4.07±1.42 | [95] |
| Vaia (Portugal) | 12, 10 | 4.40±1.31, 4.67±1.38 | [96] | |
| Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) | Azores | 19, 14 | 0.8±0.2, 1.1±0.2 | [74] |
| Aride Island (Seychelles) | 12 | 0.69±0.32 | [97] | |
| White tern (Gygis alba) | Aride Island (Seychelles) | 10, 10 | 0.21±0.03, 0.40±0.05 | [38] |
| Midway Atoll | 7 | 1.65±0.18a | [40], [98] | |
| Sooty tern (Onychoprion fuscata) | Lys (Glorieuses) | 32 | 0.05±0.03 | [41] |
| Aride Island (Seychelles) | 10 | 0.26±0.05 | [38] | |
| Hawaii | 16 | 0.16±0.02a | [98] | |
| Brown noddy (Anous stolidus) | Aride Island (Seychelles) | 10, 10 | 0.27±0.05, 0.37±0.06 | [38] |
| Hawaii | 20 | 0.07±0.003a | [99], [100] | |
| Lesser noddy (Anous tenuirostris) | Aride Island (Seychelles) | 10, 5 | 0.17±0.03, 0.41±0.17 | [38] |
| Alcidae | ||||
| Razorbill (Alca torda) | New Brunswick (Canada) | 16 | 1.40 (0.86–2.29) | [75] |
| Common murre (Uria aalge) | New Brunswick (Canada) | 9 | 1.14 (0.59–2.18)b | [75] |
| Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica) | New Brunswick (Canada) | 17 | 1.00 (0.27–0.73)b | [75] |
Down Hg values and studies with too low numbers of sampled chicks (n <4) were excluded.
a
Values are means ± SE.
b
Values are estimated marginal means with 95% confidence limits in parentheses.
c
Median value.
d
Values are geometric means with 95% confidence limits in parentheses.