Temporal trend of mercury in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard using teeth as a biomonitoring tissue

• Published in: J. Environ. Monit.
• Main Authors: Aubail, Aurore, Dietz, Rune, Rigét, Frank, Sonne, Christian, Wiig, Øystein, Caurant, Florence
• Other Authors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National Environmental Research Institute (NERI), Department of Arctic Environment Rockilde, Aarhus University Aarhus -National Environmental Research Institute Danmark (NERI), Natural History Museum Oslo, University of Oslo (UiO)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2012
• Subjects: Hg; carbon; nitrogen; stable isotope; polar bear; tooth; Svalbard; temporal trend; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; Ursus maritimus
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00647260; https://hal.science/hal-00647260/document; https://hal.science/hal-00647260/file/HAL_PB_Aubail_al2012.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1039/C1EM10681C

International audience We examined the use of mercury (Hg) and nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes in teeth of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard as biotracers of temporal changes in Hg pollution exposure between 1964 and 2003. Teeth were regarded as a good matrix of the Hg exposure, and in total 87 teeth of polar bears were analysed. Dental Hg levels ranged from 0.6 to 72.3 ng/g dry weight and increased with age the first 10 years of life. A decreasing time trend in Hg concentrations was observed over the recent four decades while no temporal changes were found in the stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C). This suggests that the decrease of Hg concentrations over time was more likely due to a lower environmental Hg exposure in this region rather than a shift in the feeding habits of Svalbard polar bears.