Physiological effects of PFAS exposure in seabird chicks: A multi-species study of thyroid hormone triiodothyronine, body condition and telomere length in South Western France

There is growing evidence that poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure leads to the disruption of thyroid hormones including thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), and may affect telomeres, repetitive nucleotide sequences which protect chromosome ends. Many seabird species are long-lived top predators thus exhibit high contaminant levels, and PFAS-disrupting effects on their physiology have been documented especially in relation to the endocrine system in adults. On the contrary, studies on the developmental period (i.e., chicks), during which exposure to environmental contaminants may have a greater impact on physiological traits, remain scarce to this date. We carried out a multi-species study with the aim to assess whether and to which extent chicks of four gull species (herring gull, great and lesser black-backed gull, yellow-legged gull) in South Western France are contaminated by PFAS, and to bring further evidence about their potential physiological consequences. Linear PFOS showed concentrations of concern as it was generally >10 times higher than the other PFAS, and exceeded a threshold toxicity level (calculated from previous studies in birds) in almost all sampled chicks. Nonetheless, in herring gull male chicks, total T3 levels were significantly and negatively associated with perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) and perfluorododecanoate (PFDoDA) and positively associated with perfluorotetradecanoate (PFTeDA) in female chicks. Total T3 levels were also positively associated with PFDoDA in great black backed gull male chicks and with perfluorotridecanoate (PFTrDA) in lesser black backed gull chicks. In lesser and great black-backed gulls, both females and males showed significant negative associations between several PFAS and their body condition, and a positive association between telomere length and L-PFOS in the yellow-legged gull was also found. These results corroborate previous findings and need to be further explored as they suggest that PFAS may interfere with the physiological status of chicks during the developmental period, potentially inducing long-lasting consequences.COntinental To coastal Ecosystems: evolution, adaptability and governanc

Physiological effects of PFAS exposure in seabird chicks: A multi-species study of thyroid hormone triiodothyronine, body condition and telomere length in South Western France

International audienceThere is growing evidence that poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure leads to the disruption of thyroid hormones including thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3), and may affect telomeres, repetitive nucleotide sequences which protects chromosome ends. Many seabird species are long-lived top predators thus exhibit high contaminant levels, and PFAS-disrupting effects on physiology have been documented especially in relation to the endocrine system in adults. On the contrary, studies on the developmental period (i.e., chicks), during which exposure to environmental contaminants may have a greater impact on physiological traits, remain scarce to this date. We carried out a multi-species study with the aim to assess whether and to which extent chicks of four gull species (herring gull, great and lesser black-backed gull, yellow-legged gull) in South Western France are contaminated by PFAS, and to bring further evidence about their potential physiological consequences. Linear PFOS showed concentrations of concern as it was generally >10 times higher than the other PFAS, and exceeded a threshold toxicity level (calculated from previous studies in birds) in almost all sampled chicks. Nonetheless, in herring gull male chicks, total T3 levels were significantly and negatively associated with perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) and perfluorododecanoate (PFDoDA) and positively associated with perfluorotetradecanoate (PFTeDA) in female chicks. Total T3 levels were also positively associated with PFDoDA in great black backed gull male chicks and with perfluorotridecanoate (PFTrDA) in lesser black backed gull chicks. In lesser and great black-backed gulls, both females and males showed significant negative associations between several PFAS and their body condition, and a positive association between telomere length and L-PFOS in the yellow-legged gull. These results corroborate previous findings and need to be further explored as they suggest that PFAS may interfere with the physiological status of chicks during the developmental period, potentially inducing long-lasting consequences

The Green Edge cruise: Understanding the onset, life and fate of the Arctic phytoplankton spring bloom

Abstract. The Green Edge project was designed to investigate the onset, life and fate of a phytoplankton spring bloom (PSB) in the Arctic Ocean. The lengthening of the ice-free period and the warming of seawater, amongst other factors, have induced major changes in arctic ocean biology over the last decades. Because the PSB is at the base of the Arctic Ocean food chain, it is crucial to understand how changes in the arctic environment will affect it. Green Edge was a large multidisciplinary collaborative project bringing researchers and technicians from 28 different institutions in seven countries, together aiming at understanding these changes and their impacts into the future. The fieldwork for the Green Edge project took place over two years (2015 and 2016) and was carried out from both an ice-camp and a research vessel in the Baffin Bay, canadian arctic. This paper describes the sampling strategy and the data set obtained from the research cruise, which took place aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Amundsen in spring 2016. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.17882/59892 (Massicotte et al., 2019a)

The Green Edge cruise: investigating the marginal ice zone processes during late spring and early summer to understand the fate of the Arctic phytoplankton bloom

The Green Edge project was designed to investigate the onset, life, and fate of a phytoplankton spring bloom (PSB) in the Arctic Ocean. The lengthening of the ice-free period and the warming of seawater, amongst other factors, have induced major changes in Arctic Ocean biology over the last decades. Because the PSB is at the base of the Arctic Ocean food chain, it is crucial to understand how changes in the Arctic environment will affect it. Green Edge was a large multidisciplinary, collaborative project bringing researchers and technicians from 28 different institutions in seven countries together, aiming at understanding these changes and their impacts on the future. The fieldwork for the Green Edge project took place over two years (2015 and 2016) and was carried out from both an ice camp and a research vessel in Baffin Bay, in the Canadian Arctic. This paper describes the sampling strategy and the dataset obtained from the research cruise, which took place aboard the Canadian Coast Guard ship (CCGS) Amundsen in late spring and early summer 2016. The sampling strategy was designed around the repetitive, perpendicular crossing of the marginal ice zone (MIZ), using not only ship-based station discrete sampling but also high-resolution measurements from autonomous platforms (Gliders, BGC-Argo floats …) and under-way monitoring systems. The dataset is available at https://doi.org/10.17882/86417 (Bruyant et al., 2022)