**Abstract:**

Long-term monitoring data of seabirds have revealed the annual trend of mercury exposure in seabirds that are known to play a role of biovectors transporting methylmercury from the ocean to the land. However, it is unclear how wintering distribution and habitat affect the efficacy of seabirds as mercury biovectors. To address this issue, we tested whether seabirds that fly through and hence feed in regions of high [Hg] have a higher biovectors capability, and whether their at-sea behavior is more heavily impacted. To time exposure, we exploited the differential turnover rate of different bird tissues in storing Hg until they reach their colony in the Spring; to assess Hg biotransport, we sampled terrestrial plants at their colony; to assess wintering behavior, we monitored stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N; trophic position) and equipped birds with data loggers (geolocation and activity). By contrasting two areas on both sides of the North Pacific of high (Japan; n = 10) and low (Alaska; n = 11) Hg emissions and using the Rhinoceros auklet as a model species, we show that all sampled individuals have high [Hg] (0.3-11.4 μg g-1) that are ultimately deposited at their colony via feces. While exposure levels of auklet tissues were associated with environmental contamination levels during wintering, at-sea behavior was transient Alaskan birds, but long-lasting in Japanese birds. These results not only indicate that seabirds can be used as a tracer of large-scale Hg emission rates, but also that seabirds may suffer long-term behavioral changes when subjected to higher Hg during winter.

**Authors:**

Akiko Shoji¹, Kyle Elliott², Yutaka Watanuki³, Stéphane Aris-Brosou¹, Shannon Wheeler², Scott Hatch⁴

¹University of Ottawa, ²McGill University, ³Hokkaido University, ⁴Institute for Seabird Research and Conservation

Mercury biotransport by auklets: two-colony comparison

Poster Session I Pacific - A: Behavior

poster

Welcome Seabirders!  

Welcome to Virtual World Seabird Conference 3 - vWSC3! Whether you are in your office or lab, at home, in a coffee shop or bar poaching some wifi, or at a remote field site or research vessel – we are very excited to welcome you to the third ever World Seabird Conference. 

We would like to thank ALL of you for being so patient as WSC3 was scheduled, postponed, rescheduled, revised to virtual, and scheduled again. Throughout all those iterations there was one message that remained perfectly clear – seabirders were eager to meet and share their science. If we could not meet in person then virtual it would have to be, but a 3rd WSC was something everyone wanted. That support and commitment helped the WSU Board of Directors and Member Societies sort through all of the challenges they faced to plan and hold this conference. 

The list of those that need to be thanked is long and, while we plan on recognizing many during the live closing plenary, it is important to do so here in writing as well. 

The Australasian Seabird Group was our Local Host for our plan to meet in Hobart, Tasmania. They invested substantial time and effort to find venues and plan events that we unfortunately were not able to visit. Nonetheless we appreciate their work on behalf of WSC3 and encourage all of you to thank them when you see their members in Gathertown or elsewhere during our virtual meeting. Their willingness to host created the initial excitement for WSC3 and without that our vWSC would not have been possible.

We also wish to thank the Science Program Committee, the Virtual Committee, and the Early Career Scientist Committee for their hard work planning the logistics, events, and schedule for vWSC3. These committees also had to deal with changing parameters and short timelines that made what is always a challenging task even more challenging. The Travel Awards Committee also invested time and effort in developing procedures for awarding travel funds that ultimately would not be implemented. 

Our ability to shift from an in-person to a virtual meeting, and to do so in a way that would be financially feasible, was due to the effective efforts of The International Fundraising Committee and to our financial sponsors. The IFC raised funds to support WSC3 and then, through the good relationships they built with sponsors, ensured we could re-envision how those funds could be used to support a virtual conference that would be affordable and high-quality.

We all owe the WSU Board of Directors and the Representatives of the Member Societies a great deal of thanks. They are the ones who manage the WSU and, for the past 18 months, have had to have a series of challenging meetings and conversations, have had to make a series of difficult choices, have had to do all of that while considering the short- and long-term health of WSU and the World Seabird Conferences, and did this while also managing their own challenges at their day jobs. We are grateful for their diligence, patience, foresight, and throughout all of the meetings, their collegiality. Also – a 6-year term is quite a commitment!

There would not be a WSC3 without a successful WSC1 and WSC2. Thanks go to the Pacific Seabird Group for their support of WSC1 in Victoria, Canada, and to the African Seabird Group for their support of WSC2 in Cape Town, South Africa. In each of these endeavors and for our current conference we were fortunate to work with a dependable and trustworthy partner in Podium Conferences. Michelle Smith and Marischal de Armond have become valued members of our team and have not only helped us plan conferences but have assisted and advised the WSU Chairs and Board on issues above and beyond conference planning. 

As we embark on our vWSC3 week we extend to all of you our thanks for showing up, for being patient, and most importantly for the work you do with seabirds. We are all part of a unique, global community that shares an interest, a fascination, and a passion for birds that make a living in our world’s oceans. We have advanced the science, conservation, and management of seabirds as well the ecosystems they inhabit. We are consistently impressed and motivated by the work you do. 

The WSU formed in 2010 because we saw the need for a global organization to address challenges at a global level. Over the past 11 years WSU has grown, adapted, and evolved to become the community that this week is making vWSC3 a reality. Enjoy the week, appreciate and support the friends and colleagues you have made in the community, and if you see us in a virtual hallway please stop and say hello! 

Thank you for the opportunity to serve all of you and the WSU over the past few years,

Nicholas Carlile, Interim Chair, WSU<br>
Patrick Jodice, 2nd Chair of the WSU<br><br>

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3rd World Seabird Conference

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Akiko Shoji

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Mercury biotransport by auklets: two-colony comparison

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