北極の海鳥は,海洋由来汚染物質を輸送する
Jules M Blais1, Lynda E Kimpe, Dominique McMahon
1Centre for Advanced Research in Environmental Genomics, Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 6N5 Canada. jblais@science.uottawa.ca
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|July 16, 2005
まとめ
北極の海鳥は,長距離輸送ではなく,DDTや水銀のような海洋汚染物質を北極の沿岸の池に運ぶ主要な媒介者である. 鳥のグアノは生態系を豊かにしますが,汚染物質を濃縮します.
科学分野:
- 環境科学 環境科学
- エコロジー エコロジー エコロジー
- アークティック・リサーチ・アークティック研究
背景:
- 北極の汚染は,地元の資源が乏しいため,長距離の大気輸送に起因することが多い.
- 北極の海洋食物網は,汚染物質の経路を理解するために不可欠です.
研究 の 目的:
- 海洋由来汚染物質が北極沿岸の池に流入する主な媒介者を特定する.
- これらの敏感な生態系における汚染物質レベルに対する海鳥の影響を定量化する.
主な方法:
- 北極沿岸の池の堆積物における汚染物質濃度 (DDT,水銀,ヘキサクロルベンゼン) を調査した.
- 海洋鳥の活動が多い池の汚染物質レベルを比較して,場所のコントロールを行う.
- 栄養素の循環と汚染物質の配送における鳥グアノの役割を評価した.
主要な成果:
- 北極の海鳥は,海洋由来汚染物質の主要なベクトルであり,沿岸の池の汚染物質の負荷を大幅に増加させます.
- 海鳥の影響が大きい池では,対照部位と比較して,DDT (60x),水銀 (25x),ヘキサクロロベンゼン (10x) の濃度が大幅に高かった.
- 海鳥のグアノは,生産性を高めながら,産業や農業の汚染物質を北極の遠い生態系に流入させる主要な経路として機能します.
結論:
- 海鳥は,海洋汚染物質の生物蓄積と北極の陸上環境への輸送において,重要かつ過小評価されている役割を果たしています.
- 北極における汚染物質の経路の再考は,高トロフィックレベルの種の重大な影響を考慮して必要である.
- 効果的な保全と汚染軽減戦略は,汚染物質の拡散における海鳥の生態学的役割を考慮する必要があります.
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