How Arctic Marine Birds Help Researchers Study a Changing North

We report blood and feather concentrations of elements in the Baltic Sea and Arctic population of common eiders (Somateria mollissima). The endangered Baltic Sea population of eiders was demonstrably affected by element pollution in the 1990s. While blood concentrations of Hg were higher in Baltic breeding eiders, blood Se, As and Cd concentrations were higher in Arctic eiders. Blood concentrations of Pb, Cr, Zn and Cu did not differ between the two populations. While blood Pb concentrations had declined in Baltic eiders since the 1990s, Hg concentrations had not declined, and were above concentrations associated with adverse oxidative effects in other bird species. Inconsistent with blood concentrations, feather concentrations suggested that Pb, Zn, and Cd exposure was higher in Baltic eiders, and that Hg exposure was higher in Arctic eiders. Our study thus emphasizes the need for comprehensive evaluation of toxic element status, covering the annual cycle of a species.

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“…and inshore marine habitats (Franson et al, 2004;Mallory et al, 2004;Mallory et al, 2014;Provencher et al, 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Blood and feather concentrations of toxic elements in a Baltic and an Arctic seabird population

Fenstad

Bustnes

Lierhagen

et al. 2017

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…Second, Arctic-breeding seabird species are also found outside of the Arctic, which thus provides the opportunity to compare levels within the Arctic to regions beyond the Arctic . Third, in many locations, community-based researchers can carry out much of the work involved in assessing seabirds for plastic pollution (Provencher, 2014). Fourth, contaminants monitoring in several regions, including the Arctic, already uses seabirds for tracking patterns and trends in environmental contaminants (Dietz et al, 2019), which can potentially provide a platform for new monitoring parameters (Provencher et al, 2015;.…”

Section: Benefits Of Using Seabirds As Indicatorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Addressing Microplastics in a Global Agreement on Plastic Pollution

Rognerud¹,

Hurley²,

Lusher³

et al. 2023

TemaNord

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Concerns about microplastics and litter in the environment have been raised at both global and regional (Arctic Council, EU, OSPAR, Nordic Council) levels. The Working Group on Marine litter plastics and microplastics and its POPs and EDC 1 components: challenges and measures to tackle the issue (Gallo et al., 2017) discussed the potential impacts of marine plastics on marine biodiversity and human health (November 2016).The Nordic Council of Ministers' declaration (2017) on reducing the environmental impacts of plastics states that the Nordic countries aspire to be driving forces in efforts to promote a sustainable approach to the production, use, waste management, and recycling of plastics, and the council has decided to launch a program to follow up on this issue.The Fairbanks Declaration from the Arctic Council (2017) notes "(…) growing concerns relating to the increasing levels of microplastics in the Arctic and potential effects on ecosystems and human health.

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