Environmental and behavioral changes may influence the exposure of an Arctic apex predator to pathogens and contaminants
Autor: | Jitender P. Dubey, Camila K. Cerqueira-Cézar, Matthew McCollum, Todd C. Atwood, Colleen Duncan, Steven G. Hennager, Oliver C.H. Kwok, Andrew M. Ramey, Jack C. Rhyan, Pauline Nol, Melissa A. McKinney, Kelly A. Patyk |
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Rok vydání: | 2017 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Ursus maritimus lcsh:Medicine Chlordane 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Article chemistry.chemical_compound biology.animal parasitic diseases Sea ice Animals Ice Cover lcsh:Science Francisella tularensis Ecosystem 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Apex predator geography Multidisciplinary geography.geographical_feature_category biology Arctic Regions Ecology lcsh:R Neospora Coxiella burnetii biology.organism_classification Brucella Neospora caninum chemistry Arctic lcsh:Q Environmental Pollutants Toxoplasma Ursidae |
Zdroj: | Scientific Reports Scientific Reports, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2017) |
ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
Popis: | Recent decline of sea ice habitat has coincided with increased use of land by polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the southern Beaufort Sea (SB), which may alter the risks of exposure to pathogens and contaminants. We assayed blood samples from SB polar bears to assess prior exposure to the pathogens Brucella spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Coxiella burnetii, Francisella tularensis, and Neospora caninum, estimate concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs), and evaluate risk factors associated with exposure to pathogens and POPs. We found that seroprevalence of Brucella spp. and T. gondii antibodies likely increased through time, and provide the first evidence of exposure of polar bears to C. burnetii, N. caninum, and F. tularensis. Additionally, the odds of exposure to T. gondii were greater for bears that used land than for bears that remained on the sea ice during summer and fall, while mean concentrations of the POP chlordane (ΣCHL) were lower for land-based bears. Changes in polar bear behavior brought about by climate-induced modifications to the Arctic marine ecosystem may increase exposure risk to certain pathogens and alter contaminant exposure pathways. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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