title: Temporal trend of mercury in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard using teeth as a biomonitoring tissue.
abstract: We examined the use of mercury (Hg) and nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes in teeth of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard as biotracers of temporal changes in Hg pollution exposure between 1964 and 2003. Teeth were regarded as a good matrix of the Hg exposure, and in total 87 teeth of polar bears were analysed. Dental Hg levels ranged from 0.6 to 72.3 ng g(-1) dry weight and increased with age during the first 10 years of life. A decreasing time trend in Hg concentrations was observed over the recent four decades while no temporal changes were found in the stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ(15)N) and carbon (δ(13)C). This suggests that the decrease of Hg concentrations over time was more likely due to a lower environmental Hg exposure in this region rather than a shift in the feeding habits of Svalbard polar bears.
authors: National Environmental Research Institute, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, PO Box 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. aaubail@yahoo.fr rdi@dmu.dk
authors: Aurore
authors: A
authors: Aubail
authors: Rune
authors: R
authors: Dietz
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Rigét
authors: Christian
authors: C
authors: Sonne
authors: Øystein
authors: Ø
authors: Wiig
authors: Florence
authors: F
authors: Caurant
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D013538:Svalbard; D014070:Tooth / Q000737:chemistry*; D001503:Ursidae
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D008628:Mercury