Journal
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Volume 54, Issue 5, Pages 2780-2789Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b06656
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Funding
- ArcticNet Network Centres of Excellence
- Arviat Hunters and Trappers Organization
- Banrock Station Environmental Fund
- Canadian Association of Zoos and Aquariums
- Churchill Northern Studies Centre
- Canadian Wildlife Federation
- Care for the Wild International
- Earth Rangers Foundation
- Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Northern Contaminants Program of Crown -Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
- EnviroNorth
- Hauser Bears
- Isdell Family Foundation
- Kansas City Zoo
- Manitoba Sustainable Development
- MEOPAR
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Northern Scientific Training Program
- Parks Canada Agency
- Pittsburgh Zoo Conservation Fund
- Polar Bears International
- Polar Continental Shelf Project
- Quark Expeditions
- Schad Foundation
- University of Alberta
- Wildlife Media Inc.
- World Wildlife Fund (Canada)
- W. Garfield Weston Foundation
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Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and ringed seals (Pusa hispida) have a strong predator-prey relationship and are facing climate-associated Arctic habitat loss and harmful dietary exposure to total mercury (THg) and other pollutants. However, little is known about whether both species inhabiting the same area exhibit similar temporal patterns in Hg concentration, niche dynamics, and body fat indices. We used THg, delta C-13, and, delta N-15 values of western Hudson Bay polar bear hair (2004-2016) and ringed seal muscle samples (2003-2015) to investigate temporal trends of these variables and multidimensional niche metrics, as well as body fat indices for both species. We found a decline in THg concentration (by 3.8% per year) and delta C-13 (by 1.5 parts per thousand) in ringed seals suggesting a change in feeding habits and carbon source use over time, whereas no significant changes occurred in polar bears. In contrast, the polar bear 3-dimensional niche size decreased by nearly half with no change in ringed seal niche size. The delta C-13 spacing between both species increased by approximately 1.5x suggesting different responses to annual changes in sympagic-pelagic carbon source production. Ringed seal body fat index was higher in years of earlier sea ice breakup with no change occurring in polar bears. These findings indicate that both species are responding differently to a changing environment suggesting a possible weakening of their predator-prey relationship in western Hudson Bay.
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