Polar bears and glaucous gulls most at risk from pollution

Polar bear on Svalbard. Copyright Wildlife Extra

An alphabet soup of contaminants leaves some species fighting for survival

August 2010: Animals in the Arctic are exposed to an alphabet soup of pollutants and contaminates, but according to the latest research, that leaves some species far more vulnerable than others.

Polar bears in East Greenland and Svalbard and Galucous gulls in Svalabard were particularly at risk, according to the new report, co-authored by a researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

'At risk' list
While researchers found it difficult to unearth strong evidence that contaminants such as PCBs and DDT were adversely affecting animals throughout the region, other factors such as the impact of climate change, disease and the invasion of new species will affect the overall exposure that each animal has to pollutants. Climate change, in particular, will affect sea ice distribution and temperatures. This will in turn cause food web changes and changes in nutrition, which led the researchers to list animals at the highest risk from contaminant exposure.

The Arctic wildlife and fish considered to be most at risk are: polar bears in East Greenland, Svalbard and Hudson Bay, killer whales in Alaska and northern Norway, several species of gulls and other seabirds from the Svalbard area, northern Norway, East Greenland, the Kara Sea, and the Canadian central high Arctic, ringed seals from East Greenland and a few populations of Arctic char and Greenland shark.