(Table 1) Concentration of pollutants in hair of East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

Hair sampled from 96 East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) over the periods 1892-1927 and 1988-2009 was analyzed for cortisol as a proxy to investigate temporal patterns of environmental stress. Cortisol concentration was independent of sex and age, and was found at significantly higher (p<...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bechshøft, Thea Ø, Rigét, Frank F, Sonne, Christian, Letcher, Robert J, Muir, Derek C G, Novak, M A, Henchey, E, Meyer, J S, Eulaers, I, Jaspers, Veerle LB, Eens, Marcel, Covaci, Adrian, Dietz, Rune
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: PANGAEA 2012
Subjects:
Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene
standard deviation
East_Greenland
East Greenland
International Polar Year (2007-2008)
IPY
Oxychlordane
para,para-Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene
Polybrominated diphenyl ethers
congener BDE-47
Polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyl 138
Polychlorinated biphenyl 153
Polychlorinated biphenyl 156
Polychlorinated biphenyl 170
Polychlorinated biphenyl 180
Polychlorinated biphenyl 183
Polychlorinated biphenyl 187
trans-Nonachlor
Greenland
International Polar Year
polar bear
Ursus maritimus
Online Access:https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.807320
https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.807320
Description
Summary:Hair sampled from 96 East Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) over the periods 1892-1927 and 1988-2009 was analyzed for cortisol as a proxy to investigate temporal patterns of environmental stress. Cortisol concentration was independent of sex and age, and was found at significantly higher (p<0.001) concentrations in historical hair samples (1892-1927; n = 8) relative to recent ones (1988-2009; n = 88). In addition, there was a linear time trend in cortisol concentration of the recent samples (p< 0.01), with an annual decrease of 2.7%. The recent hair samples were also analyzed for major bioaccumulative, persistent organic pollutants (POPs). There were no obvious POP related time trends or correlations between hair cortisol and hair POP concentrations. Thus, polar bear hair appears to be a relatively poor indicator of the animal's general POP load in adipose tissue. However, further investigations are warranted to explore the reasons for the temporal decrease found in the bears' hair cortisol levels.

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