The objectives of the present long‐term study, spanning a 45 year period, were to 1) investigate the temporal trends of total mercury (THg; muscle and liver) and selenium (Se; liver) in ringed seals (Pusa hispida) from different regions of the Canadian Arctic; and 2) examine possible relationships with age, diet, and climate parameters such as air temperature, precipitation, climatic indices, and ice‐coverage.
Citation: Houde, M., Taranu, Z.E., Wang, X., Young, B., Gagnon, P., Ferguson, S.H., Kwan, M., Muir, D.C.G., 2020. Mercury in ringed seals (Pusa hispida) from the Canadian Arctic in relation to time and climate parameters. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 39, 2462–2474. doi: 10.1002/etc.4865
Supplemental Information
The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP, http://www.science.gc.ca/eic/site/063.nsf/eng/h_7A463DBA.html) was established in 1991 in response to concerns about human exposure to elevated levels of contaminants in wildlife species that are important to the traditional diets of northern Aboriginal peoples. Early studies found a wide variety of substances, many of which had no Arctic or Canadian sources, but which were, nevertheless, reaching unexpectedly high levels in the Arctic ecosystem.
The Canadian Cryospheric Information Network (CCIN) and the Polar Data Catalogue (PDC) have been developed over the past two decades through collaborative partnerships between the University of Waterloo and numerous government, university, and private organizations to provide the data and information management infrastructure for the Canadian cryospheric community. The PDC is one of Canada’s primary online sources for data and information about the Arctic and is Canada's National Antarctica Data Centre.
Polar Data Catalogue Canadian Cryospheric Information Network Metadata Record: 10780
Supporting Projects: Northern Contaminants Program (NCP)