Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) are icons of climate change, largely because of their close association with sea ice. However, neither a circumpolar assessment of AMM status nor a standardized metric of ...sea ice habitat change is available. We summarized available data on abundance and trend for each AMM species and recognized subpopulation. We also examined species diversity, the extent of human use, and temporal trends in sea ice habitat for 12 regions of the Arctic by calculating the dates of spring sea ice retreat and fall sea ice advance from satellite data (1979–2013). Estimates of AMM abundance varied greatly in quality, and few studies were long enough for trend analysis. Of the AMM subpopulations, 78% (61 of 78) are legally harvested for subsistence purposes. Changes in sea ice phenology have been profound. In all regions except the Bering Sea, the duration of the summer (i.e., reduced ice) period increased by 5–10 weeks and by >20 weeks in the Barents Sea between 1979 and 2013. In light of generally poor data, the importance of human use, and forecasted environmental changes in the 21st century, we recommend the following for effective AMM conservation: maintain and improve comanagement by local, federal, and international partners; recognize spatial and temporal variability in AMM subpopulation response to climate change; implement monitoring programs with clear goals; mitigate cumulative impacts of increased human activity; and recognize the limits of current protected species legislation.
Climate change has broad ecological implications for species that rely on sensitive habitats. For some top predators, loss of habitat is expected to lead to cascading behavioral, nutritional, and ...reproductive changes that ultimately accelerate population declines. In the case of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), declining Arctic sea ice reduces access to prey and lengthens seasonal fasting periods. We used a novel combination of physical capture, biopsy darting, and visual aerial observation data to project reproductive performance for polar bears by linking sea ice loss to changes in habitat use, body condition (i.e., fatness), and cub production. Satellite telemetry data from 43 (1991–1997) and 38 (2009–2015) adult female polar bears in the Baffin Bay subpopulation showed that bears now spend an additional 30 d on land (90 d in total) in the 2000s compared to the 1990s, a change closely correlated with changes in spring sea ice breakup and fall sea ice formation. Body condition declined for all sex, age, and reproductive classes and was positively correlated with sea ice availability in the current and previous year. Furthermore, cub litter size was positively correlated with maternal condition and spring breakup date (i.e., later breakup leading to larger litters), and negatively correlated with the duration of the ice-free period (i.e., longer ice-free periods leading to smaller litters). Based on these relationships, we projected reproductive performance three polar bear generations into the future (approximately 35 yr). Results indicate that two-cub litters, previously the norm, could largely disappear from Baffin Bay as sea ice loss continues. Our findings demonstrate how concurrent analysis of multiple data types collected over long periods from polar bears can provide a mechanistic understanding of the ecological implications of climate change. This information is needed for long-term conservation planning, which includes quantitative harvest risk assessments that incorporate estimated or assumed trends in future environmental carrying capacity.
Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are among the world's highest trophic level marine predators and as such have some of the highest tissue concentrations of organohalogen contaminants (OHCs) among Arctic ...biota. In this paper we present the results of a three decade (1983–2013) risk assessment of OHC exposure and effects on reproduction, immunity, and cancer (genotoxicity) in polar bears from Central East Greenland. Risk of adverse effects are evaluated using a risk quotient (RQ) approach with derivation from measured OHC concentrations in polar bear tissue and critical body residues (CBR) extrapolated for polar bears using physiologically-based pharmacokinetic modelling (PBPK). The additive RQs for all OHCs in polar bears were above the threshold for all effect categories (RQ > 1) in every year, suggesting this population has been at significant and continuous risk of contaminant-mediated effects for over three decades. RQs peaked in 1983 (RQ > 58) and again in 2013 (RQ > 50) after a period of decline. These trends follow ΣPCB levels during that time, and contributed almost all of the risk to immune, reproductive, and carcinogenic effects (71–99% of total RQ). The recent spike in RQs suggests a major shift in polar bear contaminant exposure from climate related changes in food composition and hereby the increased risk of adverse health effects. In the context of lifetime exposure ΣPCB and PFOS levels showed the interactive importance of year of birth, age, and emission history. In conclusion, the results indicate that East Greenland polar bears have been exposed to OHC levels over the period of 1983–2013 that potentially and continuously affected individual and theoretically also population health, with a peaking risk in the more recent years.
•Risk assessment was conducted for 323 polar bears from Central East Greenland.•Risk assessment was conducted over a thirty year time period 1983–2013.•Risk quotients were above the threshold for all effect categories and year studied.•RQs peaked in 1983 (RQ > 58) and again in 2013 (RQ > 50) after a period of decline.•Year of birth, age, and emission history affected lifetime exposure of PCB and PFOS.
Since the last Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) effort to review biological effects of the exposure to organohalogen compounds (OHCs) in Arctic biota, there has been a considerable ...number of new Arctic effect studies. Here, we provide an update on the state of the knowledge of OHC, and also include mercury, exposure and/or associated effects in key Arctic marine and terrestrial mammal and bird species as well as in fish by reviewing the literature published since the last AMAP assessment in 2010. We aimed at updating the knowledge of how single but also combined health effects are or can be associated to the exposure to single compounds or mixtures of OHCs. We also focussed on assessing both potential individual as well as population health impacts using population-specific exposure data post 2000. We have identified quantifiable effects on vitamin metabolism, immune functioning, thyroid and steroid hormone balances, oxidative stress, tissue pathology, and reproduction. As with the previous assessment, a wealth of documentation is available for biological effects in marine mammals and seabirds, and sentinel species such as the sledge dog and Arctic fox, but information for terrestrial vertebrates and fish remain scarce. While hormones and vitamins are thoroughly studied, oxidative stress, immunotoxic and reproductive effects need further investigation. Depending on the species and population, some OHCs and mercury tissue contaminant burdens post 2000 were observed to be high enough to exceed putative risk threshold levels that have been previously estimated for non-target species or populations outside the Arctic. In this assessment, we made use of risk quotient calculations to summarize the cumulative effects of different OHC classes and mercury for which critical body burdens can be estimated for wildlife across the Arctic. As our ultimate goal is to better predict or estimate the effects of OHCs and mercury in Arctic wildlife at the individual, population and ecosystem level, there remain numerous knowledge gaps on the biological effects of exposure in Arctic biota. These knowledge gaps include the establishment of concentration thresholds for individual compounds as well as for realistic cocktail mixtures that in fact indicate biologically relevant, and not statistically determined, health effects for specific species and subpopulations. Finally, we provide future perspectives on understanding Arctic wildlife health using new in vivo, in vitro, and in silico techniques, and provide case studies on multiple stressors to show that future assessments would benefit from significant efforts to integrate human health, wildlife ecology and retrospective and forecasting aspects into assessing the biological effects of OHC and mercury exposure in Arctic wildlife and fish.
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•We review current knowledge of contaminant exposure and effects in Arctic biota.•Effects were found on vitamin metabolism, immune functioning and hormones.•Other effects included oxidative stress, pathology and reproduction.•Marine mammals and seabirds well studied, terrestrial wildlife and fish much less.•Methods exist to model contaminant population effects, but more work is needed.
There has been a considerable number of reports on Hg concentrations in Arctic mammals since the last Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) effort to review biological effects of the ...exposure to mercury (Hg) in Arctic biota in 2010 and 2018. Here, we provide an update on the state of the knowledge of health risk associated with Hg concentrations in Arctic marine and terrestrial mammal species. Using available population-specific data post-2000, our ultimate goal is to provide an updated evidence-based estimate of the risk for adverse health effects from Hg exposure in Arctic mammal species at the individual and population level. Tissue residues of Hg in 13 species across the Arctic were classified into five risk categories (from No risk to Severe risk) based on critical tissue concentrations derived from experimental studies on harp seals and mink. Exposure to Hg lead to low or no risk for health effects in most populations of marine and terrestrial mammals, however, subpopulations of polar bears, pilot whales, narwhals, beluga and hooded seals are highly exposed in geographic hotspots raising concern for Hg-induced toxicological effects. About 6% of a total of 3500 individuals, across different marine mammal species, age groups and regions, are at high or severe risk of health effects from Hg exposure. The corresponding figure for the 12 terrestrial species, regions and age groups was as low as 0.3% of a total of 731 individuals analyzed for their Hg loads. Temporal analyses indicated that the proportion of polar bears at low or moderate risk has increased in East/West Greenland and Western Hudson Bay, respectively. However, there remain numerous knowledge gaps to improve risk assessments of Hg exposure in Arctic mammalian species, including the establishment of improved concentration thresholds and upscaling to the assessment of population-level effects.
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•Most Arctic mammals are at low/no risk from mercury exposure.•Terrestrial mammals are low and marine mammals high in mercury concentrations.•Of 3500 marine mammal individuals, 6% are at high/severe risk from mercury.•Knowledge gaps include improved effect thresholds and more recent data.•High trophic biota hotspots in Canadian High Arctic seems linked to seawater MeHg.
Legacy organochlorine contaminants were determined in adipose tissues from 294 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) sampled in East Greenland in 23 of the 28years between 1983 and 2010. Of 19 major legacy ...contaminants and congeners (ΣPCB, 4 PCB congeners (CB153, 180, 170/190), ΣDDT, p,p′-DDE, p,p′ -DDD and p,p′-DDT, α- and β-hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH), HCB, octachlorostyrene, dieldrin, oxychlordane, cis- and trans-chlordane, cis- and trans-nonachlor, heptachlor epoxide and BB-153), 18 showed statistically significant average yearly declines of −4.4% (range: −2.0 to −10.8%/year) among subadult polar bears (i.e. females<5years, males<6years). For example, the ∑PCB concentrations declined 2.7 fold from 22730ng/g lw (95% C.I.: 12470–32990ng/g lw) in 1983–1986 to 8473ng/g lw (95% C.I.: 6369–9776ng/g lw) in 2006–2010. Similar but fewer statistically significant trends were found for adult females and adult males likely due to smaller sample size and years. Despite declines as a result of international regulations, relatively high levels of these historic pollutants persist in East Greenland polar bear tissues.
► Contaminant trends from 1983 to 2010 were reported for East Greenland polar bears. ► Legacy organochlorine contaminant levels decreased over the monitored period. ► Despite the effects of international regulations, high levels of pollutants persist in polar bear tissues.
Since the late 1700s, reports of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) using tools (i.e., pieces of ice or stones) to kill walruses (Odobenus rosmarus) have been passed on verbally to explorers and ...naturalists by their Inuit guides, based on local traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) as well as accounts of direct observations or interpretations of tracks in the snow made by the Inuit hunters who reported them. To assess the possibility that polar bears may occasionally use tools to hunt walruses in the wild, we summarize 1) observations described to early explorers and naturalists by Inuit hunters about polar bears using tools, 2) more recent documentation in the literature from Inuit hunters and scientists, and 3) recent observations of a polar bear in a zoo spontaneously using tools to access a novel food source. These observations and previously published experiments on brown bears (Ursus arctos) confirm that, in captivity, polar and brown bears are both capable of conceptualizing the use of a tool to obtain a food source that would otherwise not be accessible. Based on the information from all our sources, this may occasionally also have been the case in the wild. We suggest that possible tool use by polar bears in the wild is infrequent and mainly limited to hunting walruses because of their large size, difficulty to kill, and their possession of potentially lethal weapons for both their own defense and the direct attack of a predator.
Depuis la fin des années 1700, des signalements d’ours polaires (Ursus maritimus) se servant d’outils (comme des morceaux de glace ou des pierres) pour tuer des morses (Odobenus rosmarus) ont été communiqués verbalement par des guides inuits à divers explorateurs et naturalistes. Les guides en question se fondaient sur les connaissances écologiques traditionnelles (CET) locales de même que sur les interprétations de traces dans la neige ou les récits d’observations directes des chasseurs inuits ayant fait les signalements. Pour évaluer la possibilité que les ours polaires puissent parfois se servir d’outils pour chasser les morses en milieu sauvage, nous résumons : 1) les observations décrites aux premiers explorateurs et naturalistes par les chasseurs inuits au sujet de l’utilisation d’outils par les ours polaires; 2) la documentation récente attribuable aux chasseurs inuits et aux scientifiques; et 3) les récentes observations de l’ours polaire d’un zoo se servant d’outils spontanément pour avoir accès à une nouvelle source de nourriture. Ces observations, alliées à des expériences publiées au sujet d’ours bruns (Ursus arctos), permettent de confirmer qu’en captivité, tant les ours bruns que les ours polaires sont capables de conceptualiser l’utilisation d’un outil pour se procurer de la nourriture qui ne serait autrement pas accessible. D’après les renseignements prélevés auprès de toutes nos sources, cela aurait aussi pu être occasionnellement le cas en milieu sauvage. Nous suggérons que l’utilisation possible d’outils par les ours polaires en milieu sauvage n’est pas fréquente et qu’elle est surtout limitée à la chasse au morse en raison de la grande taille de cette espèce, de la difficulté à l’abattre et des armes potentiellement mortelles qu’elle possède, tant pour se défendre que pour attaquer un prédateur directement.
Several perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs) and perfluoroalkyl sulfonates (PFSAs) of varying chain length are bioaccumulative in biota. However, wildlife reports have focused on liver and with very ...little examination of other tissues, and thus there is a limited understanding of their distribution and potential effects in the mammalian body. In the present study, the comparative accumulation of C6 to C15 PFCAs, C4, C6, C8 and C10 PFSAs, and select precursors were examined in the liver, blood, muscle, adipose, and brain of 20 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Scoresby Sound, Central East Greenland. Overall, PFSA and PFCA concentrations were highest in liver followed by blood > brain > muscle ≈ adipose. Liver and blood samples contained proportionally more of the shorter/medium chain length (C6 to C11) PFCAs, whereas adipose and brain samples were dominated by longer chain (C13 to C15) PFCAs. PFCAs with lower lipophilicities accumulated more in the liver, whereas the brain accumulated PFCAs with higher lipophilicities. The concentration ratios (±SE) between perfluorooctane sulfonate and its precursor perfluorooctane sulfonamide varied among tissues from 9 (±1):1 (muscle) to 36 (±7):1 (liver). PFCA and PFSA patterns in polar bears indicate that the pharmacokinetics of these compounds are to some extent tissue-specific, and are the result of several factors that may include differing protein interactions throughout the body.
Polar bears are susceptible to climate warming because of their dependence on sea ice, which is declining rapidly. We present the first evidence for a genetically distinct and functionally isolated ...group of polar bears in Southeast Greenland. These bears occupy sea-ice conditions resembling those projected for the High Arctic in the late 21st century, with an annual ice-free period that is >100 days longer than the estimated fasting threshold for the species. Whereas polar bears in most of the Arctic depend on annual sea ice to catch seals, Southeast Greenland bears have a year-round hunting platform in the form of freshwater glacial mélange. This suggests that marine-terminating glaciers, although of limited availability, may serve as previously unrecognized climate refugia. Conservation of Southeast Greenland polar bears, which meet criteria for recognition as the world’s 20th polar bear subpopulation, is necessary to preserve the genetic diversity and evolutionary potential of the species.
A new hope
Polar bears are one of the most mentioned—and iconic—potential victims of climate change. Most polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt, so the current and predicted reductions in sea ice occurrence and persistence are likely to have major impacts on their survival. Laidre
et al
. describe the discovery of an isolated population of polar bears from southeastern Greenland that is much less reliant on sea ice, instead existing at the terminal end of a glacier and relying on resources from this glacial-freshwater mélange (see the Perspective by Peacock). Discovery of this population suggests both that such environments might serve as refugia for polar bears and that conservation of this new population is essential. —SNV
A newly described population of polar bears in southeastern Greenland suggests the potential for climate refugia.
Kane Basin (KB) is one of the world's most northerly polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulations, where bears have historically inhabited a mix of thick multiyear and annual sea ice year‐round. ...Currently, KB is transitioning to a seasonally ice‐free region because of climate change. This ecological shift has been hypothesized to benefit polar bears in the near‐term due to thinner ice with increased biological production, although this has not been demonstrated empirically. We assess sea‐ice changes in KB together with changes in polar bear movements, seasonal ranges, body condition, and reproductive metrics obtained from capture–recapture (physical and genetic) and satellite telemetry studies during two study periods (1993–1997 and 2012–2016). The annual cycle of sea‐ice habitat in KB shifted from a year‐round ice platform (~50% coverage in summer) in the 1990s to nearly complete melt‐out in summer (<5% coverage) in the 2010s. The mean duration between sea‐ice retreat and advance increased from 109 to 160 days (p = .004). Between the 1990s and 2010s, adult female (AF) seasonal ranges more than doubled in spring and summer and were significantly larger in all months. Body condition scores improved for all ages and both sexes. Mean litter sizes of cubs‐of‐the‐year (C0s) and yearlings (C1s), and the number of C1s per AF, did not change between decades. The date of spring sea‐ice retreat in the previous year was positively correlated with C1 litter size, suggesting smaller litters following years with earlier sea‐ice breakup. Our study provides evidence for range expansion, improved body condition, and stable reproductive performance in the KB polar bear subpopulation. These changes, together with a likely increasing subpopulation abundance, may reflect the shift from thick, multiyear ice to thinner, seasonal ice with higher biological productivity. The duration of these benefits is unknown because, under unmitigated climate change, continued sea‐ice loss is expected to eventually have negative demographic and ecological effects on all polar bears.
This study provides evidence for range expansion, improved body condition, and stable reproductive performance in the Kane Basin polar bear (Ursus maritimus) subpopulation between 1993 and 2016. These changes, together with a likely increasing subpopulation abundance, may reflect the shift from thick, multiyear sea ice to thinner, seasonal sea ice with higher biological productivity. The duration of these benefits is unknown because, under unmitigated climate change, continued sea‐ice loss is expected to eventually have negative demographic and ecological effects on all polar bears.
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