title: Grizzly bear hair reveals toxic exposure to mercury through salmon consumption.
abstract: Mercury obtained from the diet accumulates in mammalian hair as it grows thus preserving a record of mercury intake over the growth period of a given hair segment. We adapted a microanalysis approach, using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, to characterize temporal changes in mercury exposure and uptake in wild and captive grizzly bears. Captive grizzlies fed diets containing known and varied amounts of mercury provided data to allow prediction of Hg ingestion rates in wild bears. Here, we show, for the first time, that 70% of the coastal grizzly bears sampled had Hg levels exceeding the neurochemical effect level proposed for polar bears. In a context where the international community is taking global actions to reduce Hg emissions through the "Minamata Convention on Mercury", our study provides valuable information on the exposure to mercury of these grizzly bears already under many threats.
authors.affiliation: Stantec Consulting Ltd., 2042 Mills Road, Unit 11, Sidney, British Columbia V8L 4X2, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noël
authors.forename: Jody
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spence
authors.forename: Kate A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Harris
authors.forename: Charles T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Robbins
authors.forename: Jennifer K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Fortin
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: Jennie R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Christensen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001955:British Columbia; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005843:Geography; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006262:Health; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D008954:Models, Biological; D012307:Risk Factors; D012474:Salmon; D013054:Spectrophotometry, Atomic; D001503:Ursidae / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008628:Mercury