Drivers and biological effects of mercury and organo-halogenated chemicals on Arctic predators ...
Pollutants have been identified as one of the major environmental threats to humankind, wildlife and ecosystems, including the Arctic. Organo-halogenated chemicals (OHCs) and mercury (Hg) are transported from anthropogenic sources via long-range transport to the Arctic, where many of these pollutant...
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| Format: | Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
| Language: | unknown |
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Freie Universität Berlin
2022
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| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.17169/refubium-39053 https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/handle/fub188/39335 |
| Summary: | Pollutants have been identified as one of the major environmental threats to humankind, wildlife and ecosystems, including the Arctic. Organo-halogenated chemicals (OHCs) and mercury (Hg) are transported from anthropogenic sources via long-range transport to the Arctic, where many of these pollutants biomagnify within Arctic food chains, leaving in particular apex predators at the top of food chains vulnerable to potential health effects due to their hazardous properties. From a risk assessment perspective, top predators are valuable sentinels because they integrate chemical exposure across large areas and long time spans and, owing to their position at the top of food chains, reflect pollutant trends and ecosystem fluctuations. Thus, monitoring chemical exposure and understanding its impacts on Arctic predators is crucial for developing science-based recommendations for targeted conservation and management initiatives. The overall objective of the thesis was to assess the exposure of key Arctic marine and ... |
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