There is a need for baseline information about how much plastics are ingested by wildlife and potential negative consequences thereof. We analysed the frequency of occurrence (FO) of plastics >1 mm in the stomachs of five pursuit-diving seabird species collected opportunistically. Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) found emaciated on beaches in SW Norway had the highest FO of plastics (58.8 %), ...

Marine mammals in the Barents Sea region have among the highest levels of contaminants recorded in the Arctic and the Atlantic walrus (<i>Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus</i>) is one of the most contaminated species within this region. We therefore investigated the relationships bewteen blubber concentrations of lipophilic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and plasma concentrations of perfluoroalkyl ...

Migration patterns are fundamentally linked to the spatiotemporal distributions of prey. How migrating animals can respond to changes in their prey’s distribution and abundance remains largely unclear. During the last decade, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) used specific winter foraging sites in fjords of northern Norway, outside of their main summer foraging season, to feed on herring ...

Arctic wildlife is facing multiple stressors, including increasing plastic pollution. Seabirds are intrinsic to marine ecosystems, but most seabird populations are declining. We lack knowledge on plastic ingestion in many arctic seabird species, and there is an urgent need for more information to enable risk assessment and monitoring. Our study aimed to investigate the occurrence of plastics in ...

To assess how climate-sensitive factors may affect the exposure to organochlorines (OCs) and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs), we monitored concentrations in eggs of the common goldeneye (<i>Bucephala clangula</i>) over two decades (1999–2019) in central Norway. The goldeneye alternates between marine and freshwater habitats and is sensitive to climate variation, especially due to alterations in ...

As a result of regulatory decisions, atmospheric deposition of most toxic metals and metalloids (MEs) has decreased in Europe over the past few decades. However, little is known about how this reduction translates into exposure at higher trophic levels in the terrestrial environment where temporal trends may be spatially heterogeneous due to local current or legacy sources of emissions (e.g., industry) ...

Apex predators are characterized by high levels of biomagnifying organohalogenated contaminants (OHCs) which have been found to induce detrimental health effects in wildlife, such as immune system impairment. The leukocyte coping capacity (LCC) assay is a functional real-time measure of an innate immune response essential in pathogen resistance, known as the respiratory burst. The current study ...

As apex predators, polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are among the most heavily polluted organisms in the Arctic. In addition to this anthropogenic stressor, climate warming has been shown to negatively affect their body condition, reproductive output and survival. Among potential underlying physiological mechanisms, thyroid hormones (THs), which control thermoregulation, metabolism and reproduction, ...

Telomeres are used as biomarkers of vertebrate health because of the link between their length, lifespan, and survival. Exposure to environmental stressors appears to alter telomere dynamics, but little is known about telomere length and persistent organic pollutant (POP) exposure in wildlife. The white-tailed eagle (WTE; Haliaeetus albicilla) is an avian top predator that accumulates high levels ...

Temporal trends of persistent organic pollutants (POPs: PCBs, OH-PCBs, <i>p,p′</i>-DDE, HCB, β-HCH, oxychlordane, BDE-47, and 153) in relation to changes in feeding habits and body condition in adult female polar bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) from the Barents Sea subpopulation were examined over 20 years (1997–2017). All 306 samples were collected in the spring (April). Both stable isotope values ...