Mercury contamination threatens Antarctic birds

Date:

April 10, 2014

Source:

CNRS

Summary:

Mercury contamination in the Antarctic and Subantarctic affects bird populations, reveal researchers. The scientists monitored skuas in Adélie Land and the Kerguelen Islands for ten years and showed that, when these seabirds exhibit high mercury levels in their blood, their breeding success decreases. This is the first time that toxicological measurements have been combined with a population study carried out over such a long period in the Antarctic and Subantarctic.

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