Increased Amounts Of Mercury In Seal Tissue May Be Directly Linked To Sea Ice Loss - ES&T/ENN

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“The trend now in the loss of sea ice suggests that mercury in ringed seals will increase over time,”� says Gary Stern, a study coauthor from the University of Manitoba (Canada). His team, along with colleagues from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, measured mercury levels in ringed seals collected from 1973 to 2007 and related the levels to the length of the summer ice-free season in the seals’ habitat.

The Arctic environment already contains more mercury than animals there can take up, Stern explains. However, a shifting climate could result in ecosystems converting the mercury into highly toxic forms that biomagnify up the food chain.

The researchers found that mercury concentrations in seals were higher in years when the ice-free season was either very long or very short. The researchers think this is related to the seals’ food supplies. Cod are the most-mercury-contaminated food that ringed seals eat, so the seals’ summer mercury levels depend largely on how much cod the seals ate during their previous fall and winter hunting season. Older cod are the most contaminated, because the metal accumulates over time.

The researchers think that a longer ice-free season creates milder conditions that favor cod growth. So in years with less sea ice, seals have a longer ice-free period in which to catch cod, plus there may be more cod to eat. Alternatively, when sea ice stays frozen for a long time, young cod may have a harder time surviving the winter, leaving a greater proportion of older and more contaminated cod as a food supply.

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http://www.enn.com/top_stories/spotlight/39583