Browsing by Autor "Jeroen E. Sonke"

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Concentrations and stable isotopes of mercury in sharks of the Galapagos Marine Reserve: Human health concerns and feeding patterns
(2021) Laurence Maurice; Gaël Le Croizier; Gabriela Morales; Natalia Carpintero; Juan M. Guayasamin; Jeroen E. Sonke; Diego Páez‐Rosas; David Point; Walter Bustos; Valeria Ochoa‐Herrera
The human ingestion of mercury (Hg) from sea food is of big concern worldwide due to adverse health effects, and more specifically if shark consumption constitutes a regular part of the human diet. In this study, the total mercury (THg) concentration in muscle tissue were determined in six sympatric shark species found in a fishing vessel seized in the Galapagos Marine Reserve in 2017. The THg concentrations in shark muscle samples (n = 73) varied from 0.73 mg kg-1 in bigeye thresher sharks (Alopias superciliosus) to 8.29 mg kg-1 in silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis). A typical pattern of Hg bioaccumulation was observed for all shark species, with significant correlation between THg concentration and shark size for bigeye thresher sharks, pelagic thresher sharks (Alopias pelagicus) and silky sharks. Regarding human health concerns, the THg mean concentration exceeded the maximum weekly intake fish serving in all the studied species. Mass-Dependent Fractionation (MDF, δ202Hg values) and Mass-Independent Fractionation (MIF, Δ199Hg values) of Hg in whitetip sharks (Carcharhinus longimanus) and silky sharks, ranged from 0.70‰ to 1.08‰, and from 1.97‰ to 2.89‰, respectively. These high values suggest that both species are feeding in the epipelagic zone (i.e. upper 200 m of the water column). While, blue sharks (Prionace glauca), scalloped hammerhead sharks (Shyrna lewini) and thresher sharks were characterized by lower Δ199Hg and δ202Hg values, indicating that these species may focus their foraging behavior on prey of mesopelagic zone (i.e. between 200 and 1000 m depth). In conclusion, the determination of THg concentration provides straight-forward evidence of the human health risks associated with shark consumption, while mercury isotopic compositions constitute a powerful tool to trace the foraging strategies of these marine predators. CAPSULE: A double approach combining Hg concentrations with stable isotopes ratios allowed to assess ontogeny in common shark species in the area of the Galapagos Marine Reserve and the human health risks concern associated to their consumption.
Evidence for Interhemispheric Mercury Exchange in the Pacific Ocean Upper Troposphere
(Wiley, 2022) Alkuin Maximilian Koenig; Jeroen E. Sonke; Olivier Magand; Marcos Andrade; Isabel Moreno; Fernando Velarde; Ricardo Forno; René Gutierrez; Luis Blacutt; Paolo Laj
Abstract Even though anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emissions to the atmosphere are ∼2.5 times higher in the Northern Hemisphere (NH) than in the Southern Hemisphere (SH), atmospheric Hg concentrations in the NH are only ∼1.5 times higher than in the SH. Global Hg models attribute this apparent discrepancy to large SH oceanic Hg emissions or to interhemispheric exchange of Hg through the atmosphere. However, no observational data set exists to serve as a benchmark to validate whether these coarse‐resolution models adequately represent the complex dynamics of interhemispheric Hg exchange. During the 2015–2016 El Niño, we observed at mount Chacaltaya in the tropical Andes a ∼50% increase in ambient Hg compared to the year before, coinciding with a shift in synoptic transport pathways. Using this event as a case study, we investigate the impact of interhemispheric exchange on atmospheric Hg in tropical South America. We use HYSPLIT to link Hg observations to long‐range transport and find that the observed Hg increase relates strongly to air masses from the tropical Pacific upper troposphere (UT), a region directly impacted by interhemispheric exchange. Inclusion of the modeled seasonality of interhemispheric air mass exchange strengthens this relationship significantly. We estimate that interhemispheric exchange drives Hg seasonality in the SH tropical Pacific UT, with strongly enhanced Hg between July and October. We validate this seasonality with previously published aircraft Hg observations. Our results suggest that the transport of NH‐influenced air masses to tropical South America via the Pacific UT occurs regularly but became more detectable at Chacaltaya in 2015–2016 because of a westward shift in air mass origin.
Hg Speciation and Stable Isotope Signatures in Human Hair As a Tracer for Dietary and Occupational Exposure to Mercury
(American Chemical Society, 2011) Laure Laffont; Jeroen E. Sonke; Laurence Maurice; Selma Luna-Monrroy; J. Chincheros; David Amouroux; Philippe Behra
Exposure of humans and wildlife to various inorganic and organometallic forms of mercury (Hg) may induce adverse health effects. While human populations in developed countries are mainly exposed to marine fish monomethylmercury (MMHg), this is not necessarily the case for developing countries and diverse indigenous people. Identification of Hg exposure sources from biomonitor media such as urine or hair would be useful in combating exposure. Here we report on the Hg stable isotope signatures and Hg speciation in human hair across different gold miner, indigenous and urban populations in Bolivia and France. We found evidence for both mass-dependent isotope fractionation (MDF) and mass-independent isotope fractionation (MIF) in all hair samples. Three limiting cases of dominant exposure to inorganic Hg (IHg), freshwater fish MMHg, and marine fish MMHg sources are used to define approximate Hg isotope source signatures. Knowing the source signatures, we then estimated Hg exposure sources for the Bolivian gold miner populations. Modeled IHg levels in hair correspond well to measured IHg concentrations (R = 0.9), demonstrating that IHg exposure sources to gold miners can be monitored in hair samples following either its chemical speciation or isotopic composition. Different MMHg and inorganic exposure levels among gold miners appear to correspond to living and working conditions, including proximity to small towns, and artisanal vs large scale mining activity.
Mercury compound-specific stable isotope fractionation in high-altitude lake ecosystems of the Bolivian Altiplano
(Elsevier BV, 2025) Jérémy Masbou; David Point; Sylvain Bouchet; Jeroen E. Sonke; Carlos A. Molina; Carla Ibañez; Anne Lorrain; Julio Pinto; Darío Achá; David Amouroux
Methods to Investigate the Global Atmospheric Microbiome
(Frontiers Media, 2019) Aurélien Dommergue; Pierre Amato; Romie Tignat‐Perrier; Olivier Magand; Alban Thollot; Muriel Joly; Laëtitia Bouvier; Karine Sellegri; Timothy M. Vogel; Jeroen E. Sonke
The interplay between microbes and atmospheric physical and chemical conditions is an open field of research that can only be fully addressed using multidisciplinary approaches. The lack of coordinated efforts to gather data at representative temporal and spatial scales limits aerobiology to help understand large scale patterns of global microbial biodiversity and its causal relationships with the environmental context. This paper presents the sampling strategy and analytical protocols developed in order to integrate different fields of research such as microbiology, -omics biology, atmospheric chemistry, physics and meteorology to characterize atmospheric microbial life. These include control of chemical and microbial contaminations from sampling to analysis and identification of experimental procedures for characterizing airborne microbial biodiversity and its functioning from the atmospheric samples collected at remote sites from low cell density environments. We used high-volume sampling strategy to address both chemical and microbial composition of the atmosphere, because it can help overcome low aerosol and microbial cell concentrations. To account for contaminations, exposed and unexposed control filters were processed along with the samples. We present a method that allows for the extraction of chemical and biological data from the same quartz filters. We tested different sampling times, extraction kits and methods to optimize DNA yield from filters. Based on our results, we recommend supplementary sterilization steps to reduce filter contamination induced by handling and transport. These include manipulation under laminar flow hoods and UV sterilization. In terms of DNA extraction, we recommend a vortex step and a heating step to reduce binding to the quartz fibers of the filters. These steps have led to a 10-fold increase in DNA yield, allowing for downstream omics analysis of air samples. Based on our results, our method can be integrated into pre-existing long-term monitoring field protocols for the atmosphere both in terms of atmospheric chemistry and biology. We recommend using standardized air volumes and to develop standard operating protocols for field users to better control the operational quality.