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DOI : 10.1039/C1EM10681C

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Journal of Environmental Monitoring 14, 1 (2012) 56-63

Temporal trend of mercury in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard using teeth as a biomonitoring tissue

Aurore Aubail (  Auteur correspondant ) 1, 2, Rune Dietz (  Auteur correspondant ) 2, Frank Rigét 2, Christian Sonne 2, Øystein Wiig 3, Florence Caurant 1

(2012)

We examined the use of mercury (Hg) and nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes in teeth of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard as biotracers of temporal changes in Hg pollution exposure between 1964 and 2003. Teeth were regarded as a good matrix of the Hg exposure, and in total 87 teeth of polar bears were analysed. Dental Hg levels ranged from 0.6 to 72.3 ng/g dry weight and increased with age the first 10 years of life. A decreasing time trend in Hg concentrations was observed over the recent four decades while no temporal changes were found in the stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C). This suggests that the decrease of Hg concentrations over time was more likely due to a lower environmental Hg exposure in this region rather than a shift in the feeding habits of Svalbard polar bears.

1 :	Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs)
	Université de La Rochelle – CNRS : UMR6250
2 :	National Environmental Research Institute (NERI)
	University of Aarhus
3 :	Natural History Museum of Oslo (NHMO)
	University of Oslo

Équipe de recherche : Department of Arctic Environment

Domaine

:

Sciences du Vivant/Toxicologie/Ecotoxicologie

Mots Clés : Hg – carbon – nitrogen – stable isotope – polar bear – tooth – Svalbard – temporal trend

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Contributeur : Aurore Aubail <>

Soumis le : Jeudi 1 Décembre 2011, 17:17:35

Dernière modification le : Mercredi 4 Janvier 2012, 18:39:03