If sea ice is gradually withdrawing as a result of climate change, the level of mercury in polar bears could decrease.
Healthier food on land thand on ice: Polar bear
In an US-American study, hair samples of polar bears were investigated in the Beaufort Sea north of Alaska from 2004 to 2011. The result: In male animals, the levels of mercury declined by about 13% per year, but not in females. This is probably due to different foraging habits of the sexes. Female polar bears chase mainly ringed seals from the ice, which in turn feed on mercury-contaminated fish. Male polar bears also feed from land on bearded seals and stranded bowhead whales, which are only slightly contaminated with mercury.
If the ice in the polar regions is now more and more declining due to climate change, polar bears could increasingly shift their foraging habits to prey which can be found on land, e.g. stranded bowhead whales.
According to the study, the lower concentration of mercury in the polar bears is not a consequence of a reduced mercury concentration in the environment.
This and other publishing products of the Spitsbergen publishing house in the Spitsbergen-Shop.
Norwegens arktischer Norden (1): Spitzbergen
Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German. [shop url="https://shop.spitzbergen.de/en/polar-books/70-norwegens-arktischer-norden-1-aerial-arctic-9783937903262.html"] ← Back
Lofoten, Jan Mayen and Spitsbergen from the air - Photobook: Norway's arctic islands. The text in this book is German, but there is very little text, so I am sure that you will enjoy it regardless which languages you read (or not).
The companion book for the Svalbardhytter poster. The poster visualises the diversity of Spitsbergen‘s huts and their stories in a range of Arctic landscapes. The book tells the stories of the huts in three languages.
Comprehensive guidebook about Spitsbergen. Background (wildlife, plants, geology, history etc.), practical information including travelling seasons, how to travel, description of settlements, routes and regions.
Join an exciting journey with dog, skis and tent through the wintery wastes of East Greenland! We were five guys and a dog when we started in Ittoqqortoormiit, the northernmost one of two settlements on Greenland’s east coast.
12 postcards which come in a beautifully designed tray. Beautiful images from South Georgia across Antarctica from the Antarctic Peninsula to the Ross Sea and up to Macquarie Island and Campbell Island.