Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors
Mercury contamination in Arctic aquatic biota has been monitored for decades. Little information exists on mercury concentrations and drivers in terrestrial Arctic carnivores. I assessed spatial patterns of mercury concentrations in wolverine (Gulo gulo) and the relationship with environmental and d...
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ftcarletonuniv:oai:curve.carleton.ca:41058 2023-05-15T14:33:23+02:00 Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors Peraza Arcila, Maria Ines 2022 https://curve.carleton.ca/9428af84-7bac-4028-9cce-076e92e8cfeb https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2022-15084 https://ocul-crl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_CRL/j2o5om/alma991022997049205153 unknown https://curve.carleton.ca/9428af84-7bac-4028-9cce-076e92e8cfeb https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2022-15084 https://ocul-crl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_CRL/j2o5om/alma991022997049205153 Thesis/Dissertation 2022 ftcarletonuniv https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2022-15084 2022-08-06T23:04:44Z Mercury contamination in Arctic aquatic biota has been monitored for decades. Little information exists on mercury concentrations and drivers in terrestrial Arctic carnivores. I assessed spatial patterns of mercury concentrations in wolverine (Gulo gulo) and the relationship with environmental and dietary factors across the western Canadian Arctic. Environmental variables were measured at two scales: collection location and around a 150 km buffer. This buffer size was selected from correlation analysis between hydrogen stable isotopes in precipitation and hair from 80 individuals. Mean mercury concentrations in wolverines varied geographically in decreasing order Northwest Territories > Nunavut > Yukon. Regression models illustrated that nitrogen stable isotope ratios (diet), soil organic carbon, % cover of wet area, % of perennial snow-ice, and distance to the Arctic coast explained best this variation. Diet was the main driver of mercury concentrations in wolverines with contributions from landscape characteristics near Arctic coastal areas. Thesis Arctic Gulo gulo Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon CURVE - Carleton University Research Virtual Environment Arctic Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon |
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Open Polar |
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CURVE - Carleton University Research Virtual Environment |
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ftcarletonuniv |
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description |
Mercury contamination in Arctic aquatic biota has been monitored for decades. Little information exists on mercury concentrations and drivers in terrestrial Arctic carnivores. I assessed spatial patterns of mercury concentrations in wolverine (Gulo gulo) and the relationship with environmental and dietary factors across the western Canadian Arctic. Environmental variables were measured at two scales: collection location and around a 150 km buffer. This buffer size was selected from correlation analysis between hydrogen stable isotopes in precipitation and hair from 80 individuals. Mean mercury concentrations in wolverines varied geographically in decreasing order Northwest Territories > Nunavut > Yukon. Regression models illustrated that nitrogen stable isotope ratios (diet), soil organic carbon, % cover of wet area, % of perennial snow-ice, and distance to the Arctic coast explained best this variation. Diet was the main driver of mercury concentrations in wolverines with contributions from landscape characteristics near Arctic coastal areas. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Peraza Arcila, Maria Ines |
spellingShingle |
Peraza Arcila, Maria Ines Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors |
author_facet |
Peraza Arcila, Maria Ines |
author_sort |
Peraza Arcila, Maria Ines |
title |
Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors |
title_short |
Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors |
title_full |
Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors |
title_fullStr |
Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors |
title_full_unstemmed |
Spatial Patterns of Mercury Accumulation in Wolverine (Gulo gulo) Across the Western Canadian Arctic: Landscape, Climate and Dietary Factors |
title_sort |
spatial patterns of mercury accumulation in wolverine (gulo gulo) across the western canadian arctic: landscape, climate and dietary factors |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://curve.carleton.ca/9428af84-7bac-4028-9cce-076e92e8cfeb https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2022-15084 https://ocul-crl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_CRL/j2o5om/alma991022997049205153 |
geographic |
Arctic Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon |
genre |
Arctic Gulo gulo Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon |
genre_facet |
Arctic Gulo gulo Northwest Territories Nunavut Yukon |
op_relation |
https://curve.carleton.ca/9428af84-7bac-4028-9cce-076e92e8cfeb https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2022-15084 https://ocul-crl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_CRL/j2o5om/alma991022997049205153 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.22215/etd/2022-15084 |
_version_ |
1766306639337488384 |