(Table S2) Biometric data, time of ice breakup and carbon isotopic composition of adipose tissue of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) between 1991-2007 ...

• Main Authors: McKinney, Melissa A, Peacock, Elizabeth, Letcher, Robert J
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2009
• Subjects: Sample type; Ursus maritimus; Female; Male; Age, comment; DATE/TIME; Date/time end; Day of the year; δ13C; δ13C, standard deviation; Principal component 1; Standard deviation; Principal component 2; Biological sample; Isotope ratio mass spectrometry; Principal component analyses PCA; International Polar Year 2007-2008 IPY; Climate change; Hudson Bay; International Polar Year; IPY; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.816156; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.816156

Two global environmental issues, climate change and contamination by persistent organic pollutants, represent major concerns for arctic ecosystems. Yet, it is unclear how these two stressors interact in the Arctic. For instance, the influence of climate-associated changes in food web structure on exposure to pollutants within arctic ecosystems is presently unknown. Here, we report on recent changes in feeding ecology (1991-2007) in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the western Hudson Bay subpopulation that have resulted in increases in the tissue concentrations of several chlorinated and brominated contaminants. Differences in timing of the annual sea ice breakup explained a significant proportion of the diet variation among years. As expected from climate change predictions, this diet change was consistent with an increase in the consumed proportions of open water-associated seal species compared to ice-associated seal species in years of earlier sea ice breakup. Our results demonstrate that climate change ... : Date/Time is collection date (range). Data extracted in the frame of a joint ICSTI/PANGAEA IPY effort, see http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.150150 ...