Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from East Greenland and Svalbard exhibited very high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the 1980s and 1990s. In Svalbard, slow population growth during that period was suspected to be linked to PCB contamination. In this case study, we explored how PC...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:5136592 2023-05-15T16:03:52+02:00 Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination Pavlova, Viola Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Grimm, Volker 2016-11-30 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5136592/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27903868 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1883 en eng The Royal Society http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5136592/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27903868 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1883 © 2016 The Author(s) http://royalsocietypublishing.org/licence Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. Research Articles Text 2016 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1883 2017-12-03T01:09:50Z Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from East Greenland and Svalbard exhibited very high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the 1980s and 1990s. In Svalbard, slow population growth during that period was suspected to be linked to PCB contamination. In this case study, we explored how PCBs could have impacted polar bear population growth and/or male reproductive success in Svalbard during the mid-1990s by reducing the fertility of contaminated males. A dose–response relationship linking the effects of PCBs to male polar bear fertility was extrapolated from studies of the effects of PCBs on sperm quality in rodents. Based on this relationship, an individual-based model of bear interactions during the breeding season predicted fertilization success under alternative assumptions regarding male–male competition for females. Contamination reduced pregnancy rates by decreasing the availability of fertile males, thus triggering a mate-finding Allee effect, particularly when male–male competition for females was limited or when infertile males were able to compete with fertile males for females. Comparisons of our model predictions on age-dependent reproductive success of males with published empirical observations revealed that the low representation of 10–14-year-old males among breeding males documented in Svalbard in mid-1990s could have resulted from PCB contamination. We conclude that contamination-related male infertility may lead to a reduction in population growth via an Allee effect. The magnitude of the effect is largely dependent on the population-specific mating system. In eco-toxicological risk assessments, appropriate consideration should therefore be given to negative effects of contaminants on male fertility and male mating behaviour. Text East Greenland Greenland Svalbard Ursus maritimus PubMed Central (PMC) Greenland Svalbard Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283 1843 20161883 |
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Research Articles |
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Research Articles Pavlova, Viola Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Grimm, Volker Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination |
topic_facet |
Research Articles |
description |
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from East Greenland and Svalbard exhibited very high concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the 1980s and 1990s. In Svalbard, slow population growth during that period was suspected to be linked to PCB contamination. In this case study, we explored how PCBs could have impacted polar bear population growth and/or male reproductive success in Svalbard during the mid-1990s by reducing the fertility of contaminated males. A dose–response relationship linking the effects of PCBs to male polar bear fertility was extrapolated from studies of the effects of PCBs on sperm quality in rodents. Based on this relationship, an individual-based model of bear interactions during the breeding season predicted fertilization success under alternative assumptions regarding male–male competition for females. Contamination reduced pregnancy rates by decreasing the availability of fertile males, thus triggering a mate-finding Allee effect, particularly when male–male competition for females was limited or when infertile males were able to compete with fertile males for females. Comparisons of our model predictions on age-dependent reproductive success of males with published empirical observations revealed that the low representation of 10–14-year-old males among breeding males documented in Svalbard in mid-1990s could have resulted from PCB contamination. We conclude that contamination-related male infertility may lead to a reduction in population growth via an Allee effect. The magnitude of the effect is largely dependent on the population-specific mating system. In eco-toxicological risk assessments, appropriate consideration should therefore be given to negative effects of contaminants on male fertility and male mating behaviour. |
format |
Text |
author |
Pavlova, Viola Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Grimm, Volker |
author_facet |
Pavlova, Viola Nabe-Nielsen, Jacob Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Grimm, Volker |
author_sort |
Pavlova, Viola |
title |
Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination |
title_short |
Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination |
title_full |
Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination |
title_fullStr |
Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination |
title_full_unstemmed |
Allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination |
title_sort |
allee effect in polar bears: a potential consequence of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination |
publisher |
The Royal Society |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5136592/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27903868 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1883 |
geographic |
Greenland Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Greenland Svalbard |
genre |
East Greenland Greenland Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
East Greenland Greenland Svalbard Ursus maritimus |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5136592/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27903868 http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1883 |
op_rights |
© 2016 The Author(s) http://royalsocietypublishing.org/licence Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1883 |
container_title |
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences |
container_volume |
283 |
container_issue |
1843 |
container_start_page |
20161883 |
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1766399552450985984 |