(Table 2) Mercury concentration in hair of Northwest Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus)

Hair samples from 117 Northwest Greenland polar bears (Ursus maritimus) were taken during 1892-2008 and analyzed for total mercury (hereafter Hg). The sample represented 28 independent years and the aim of the study was to analyze for temporal Hg trends. Mercury concentrations showed yearly significant increases of 1.6-1.7% (p < 0.0001) from 1892 to 2008 and the two most recent median concentrations from 2006 and 2008 were 23- to 27-fold higher respectively than baseline level from 1300 A.D. in the same region (Nuullit). This indicates that the present (2006-2008) Northwest Greenland polar bear Hg exposure is 95.6-96.2% anthropogenic in its origin. Assuming a continued anthropogenic increase, this model estimated concentrations in 2050 and 2100 will be 40- and 92-fold the baseline concentration, respectively, which is equivalent to a 97.5 and 98.9% man-made contribution. None of the 2001-2008 concentrations of Hg in Northwest Greenland polar bear hair exceeded the general guideline values of 20-30 µg/g dry weight for terrestrial wildlife, whereas the neurochemical effect level of 5.4 µg Hg/g dry weight proposed for East Greenland polar bears was exceeded in 93.5% of the cases. These results call for detailed effect studies in main target organs such as brain, liver, kidney, and sexual organs in the Northwest Greenland polar bears.

Body measurements and blood plasma lipid, PCB and OH-PCB content of polar bear (U. maritimus) mothers and cubs, Svalbard

The aim of this study was to examine the plasma concentrations and prevalence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hydroxylated PCB-metabolites (OH-PCBs) in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mothers (n = 26) and their 4 months old cubs-of-the-year (n = 38) from Svalbard to gain insight into the mother-cub transfer, biotransformation and to evaluate the health risk associated with the exposure to these contaminants. As samplings were performed in 1997/1998 and 2008, we further investigated the differences in levels and pattern of PCBs between the two sampling years. The plasma concentrations of Sum(21)PCBs (1997/1998: 5710 ± 3090 ng/g lipid weight [lw], 2008: 2560±1500 ng/g lw) and Sum(6)OH-PCBs (1997/1998: 228 ± 60 ng/g wet weight [ww], 2008: 80 ± 38 ng/g ww) in mothers were significantly lower in 2008 compared to in 1997/1998. In cubs, the plasma concentrations of Sum(21)PCBs (1997/1998: 14680 ± 5350 ng/g lw, 2008: 6070 ± 2590 ng/g lw) and Sum(6)OH-PCBs (1997/1998: 98 ± 23 ng/g ww, 2008: 49 ± 21 ng/g ww) were also significantly lower in 2008 than in 1997/1998. Sum(21)PCBs in cubs was 2.7 ± 0.7 times higher than in their mothers. This is due to a significant maternal transfer of these contaminants. In contrast, Sum(6)OH-PCBs in cubs were approximately 0.53 ± 0.16 times the concentration in their mothers. This indicates a lower maternal transfer of OH-PCBs compared to PCBs. The majority of the metabolite/precursor-ratios were lower in cubs compared to mothers. This may indicate that cubs have a lower endogenous capacity to biotransform PCBs to OH-PCBs than polar bear mothers. Exposure to PCBs and OH-PCBs is a potential health risk for polar bears, and the levels of PCBs and OH-PCBs in cubs from 2008 were still above levels associated with health effects in humans and wildlife.

Concentrations of brominated and chlorinated contaminants in adipose tissue of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) between 1991-2007

Adipose tissue was sampled from the western Hudson Bay (WHB) subpopulation of polar bears at intervals from 1991 to 2007 to examine temporal trends of PCB and OCP levels both on an individual and sum-contaminant basis. We also determined levels and temporal trends of emerging polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD), polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) and other current-use brominated flame retardants. Over the 17-year period, sum DDT (and p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDT) decreased (-8.4%/year); alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH) decreased (-11%/year); beta-HCH increased ( + 8.3%/year); and sum PCB and sum chlordane (CHL), both contaminants at highest concentrations in all years (>1 ppm), showed no distinct trends even when compared to previous data for this subpopulation dating back to 1968. Some of the less persistent PCB congeners decreased significantly (-1.6%/year to -6.3%/year), whereas CB153 levels tended to increase (+ 3.3%/year). Parent CHLs (c-nonachlor, t-nonachlor) declined, whereas non-monotonic trends were detected for metabolites (heptachlor epoxide, oxychlordane). sum chlorobenzene, octachlorostyrene, sum mirex, sum MeSO2-PCB and dieldrin did not significantly change. Increasing sum PBDE levels (+13%/year) matched increases in the four consistently detected congeners, BDE47, BDE99, BDE100 and BDE153. Although no trend was observed, total-(alpha)-HBCD was only detected post-2000. Levels of the highest concentration brominated contaminant, BB153, showed no temporal change. As long-term ecosystem changes affecting contaminant levels may also affect contaminant patterns, we examined the influence of year (i.e., aging or "weathering" of the contaminant pattern), dietary tracers (carbon stable isotope ratios, fatty acid patterns) and biological (age/sex) group on congener/metabolite profiles. Patterns of PCBs, CHLs and PBDEs were correlated with dietary tracers and biological group, but only PCB and CHL patterns were correlated with year. DDT patterns were not associated with any explanatory variables, possibly related to local DDT sources. Contaminant pattern trends may be useful in distinguishing the possible role of ecological/diet changes on contaminant burdens from expected dynamics due to atmospheric sources and weathering.

(Tables S1,2) Stable isotopes in muscle tissue of polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from various regions of the Arctic

The relative contribution of regional contamination versus dietary differences to geographic variation in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) contaminant levels is unknown. Dietary variation between Alaska, Canada, East Greenland, and Svalbard subpopulations was assessed by muscle nitrogen and carbon stable isotope (d15N, d13C) and adipose fatty acid (FA) signatures relative to their main prey (ringed seals). Western and southern Hudson Bay signatures were characterized by depleted d15N and d13C, lower proportions of C20 and C22 monounsaturated FAs and higher proportions of C18 and longer chain polyunsaturated FAs. East Greenland and Svalbard signatures were reversed relative to Hudson Bay. Alaskan and Canadian Arctic signatures were intermediate. Between-subpopulation dietary differences predominated over interannual, seasonal, sex, or age variation. Among various brominated and chlorinated contaminants, diet signatures significantly explained variation in adipose levels of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants (14-15%) and legacy PCBs (18-21%). However, dietary influence was contaminant class-specific, since only low or nonsignificant proportions of variation in organochlorine pesticide (e.g., chlordane) levels were explained by diet. Hudson Bay diet signatures were associated with lower PCB and PBDE levels, whereas East Greenland and Svalbard signatures were associated with higher levels. Understanding diet/food web factors is important to accurately interpret contaminant trends, particularly in a changing Arctic.

Contribution of woody habitat islands to the conservation of birds and their potential ecosystem services in an extensive Colombian rangeland

The conservation of birds and their habitats is essential to maintain well-functioning ecosystems including human-dominated habitats. In simplified or homogenized landscapes, patches of natural and semi-natural habitat are essential for the survival of plant and animal populations. We compared species composition and diversity of trees and birds between gallery forests, tree islands and hedges in a Colombian savanna landscape to assess how fragmented woody plant communities affect forest bird communities and how differences in habitat characteristics influenced bird species traits and their potential ecosystem function. Bird and tree diversity was higher in forests than in tree islands and hedges. Soil depth influenced woody species distribution, and canopy cover and tree height determined bird species distribution, resulting in plant and bird communities that mainly differed between forest and non-forest habitat. Bird and tree species and traits widely co-varied. Bird species in tree islands and hedges were on average smaller, less specialized to habitat and more tolerant to disturbance than in forest, but dietary differences did not emerge. Despite being less complex and diverse than forests, hedges and tree islands significantly contribute to the conservation of forest biodiversity in the savanna matrix. Forest fragments remain essential for the conservation of forest specialists, but hedges and tree islands facilitate spillover of more tolerant forest birds and their ecological functions such as seed dispersal from forest to the savanna matrix.

Rates of seropositivity for Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in polar bears and marine mammals around Svalbard

Little is known about the prevalence of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii in the arctic marine food chain of Svalbard, Norway. In this study, plasma samples were analyzed for T. gondii antibodies using a direct agglutination test. Antibody prevalence was 45.6% among polar bears (Ursus maritimus), 18.7% among ringed seals (Pusa hispida) and 66.7% among adult bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) from Svalbard, but no sign of antibodies were found in bearded seal pups, harbour seals (Phoca vitulina), white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) or narwhals (Monodon monoceros) from the same area. Prevalence was significantly higher in male polar bears (52.3%) compared with females (39.3%), likely due to dietary differences between the sexes. Compared to an earlier study, T. gondii prevalence in polar bears has doubled in the past decade. Consistently, an earlier study on ringed seals did not detect T. gondii. The high recent prevalence in polar bears, ringed seals and bearded seals could be caused by an increase in the number or survivorship of oocysts being transported via the North Atlantic Current to Svalbard from southern latitudes. Warmer water temperatures have led to influxes of temperate marine invertebrate filter-feeders that could be vectors for oocysts and warmer water is also likely to favour higher survivorship of oocycts. However, a more diverse than normal array of migratory birds in the Archipelago recently, as well as a marked increase in cruise-ship and other human traffic are also potential sources of T. gondii.

Pollen and macroremains from profiles from site Osterholz and Elm

The biostratigraphic classification of the Pleistocene in north-western and central Europe is still insufficiently known, in spite of numerous geological and vegetation-history investigations. The question is not even clear, for example, how often a warm-period vegetation with thermophilous trees such as Quercus, Ulmus, Tilia, Carpinus etc could develop here. In past years, on the basis of several geological and vegetation-history findings, suspicion has often been expressed that some of the classical stages of the Pleistocene could include more warm periods than heretofore assumed, and as a result of recent investigations the period between the Waal and Holstein interglacials seems to include at least two warm periods, of which the Cromer is one. This paper contributes to this problem. The interglacial sediments coming from the Elm-Mountains near Brunswick and from the Osterholz near Elze - both within the limits of the German Mittelgebirge - were investigated by pollen analysis. In both cases a Pinus-Betula zone and a QM zone were found. The vegetation development of the Pinus-Betula zone is characterized in both sequences by the early appearance of Picea. Because of strong local influence at the Osterholz a detailed correlation is difficult. However, vegetation development at the time of the QM zone at both sites was similar; it is especially characterized by the facts that Ulmus clearly migrated to the site earlier than Quercus and was very abundant throughout this time. Furthermore, both diagrams show very low amounts of Corylus. The interglacial of the Osterholz shows in addition to the above; a Carpinus-QM-Picea-zone in which Eucommia reaches a relative high value and in the upper of which Azolla filiculoides was also found. The similarity of vegetation development justifies acceptance of the same age for the occurrences. A comparison of the vegetation development at the Elm and the Osterholz with those of the Eem, Holstein, Waal, and Tegelen warm periods as well as with all the Cromer sites so far investigated shows that only a correlation with the Cromer Complex is possible. This correlation is supported by the geologic relations in the Osterholz (the deposit is overlain by Elster till). Therefore the till-like material with Scandinavian rock fragments underlying the deposit at Elm is of particular interest. The 'Rhume' interglacial beds at Bilshausen, only 60 km south of Osterholz, is also assigned to the Cromer complex, but the two deposits cannot be of the same age because the vegetation development differs. Therefore the Cromer complex must include at least two warm periods. Further conclusions about the relative stratigraphic position of these two occurrences and correlations of other Cromer sites are at this time not possible, however.

Mercury content and isotopic composition of teeth, and sex and age of skulls of polar bears collected in Svalbard

We examined the use of mercury (Hg) and nitrogen and carbon stable isotopes in teeth of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard as biotracers of temporal changes in Hg pollution exposure between 1964 and 2003. Teeth were regarded as a good matrix of the Hg exposure, and in total 87 teeth of polar bears were analysed. Dental Hg levels ranged from 0.6 to 72.3 ng/g dry weight and increased with age during the first 10 years of life. A decreasing time trend in Hg concentrations was observed over the recent four decades while no temporal changes were found in the stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (d15N) and carbon (d13C). This suggests that the decrease of Hg concentrations over time was more likely due to a lower environmental Hg exposure in this region rather than a shift in the feeding habits of Svalbard polar bears.

Age determination and pollen profile of sediment core Voulkaria 1966, Greece

Lake Voulkaria is situated in northwestern Greece in the Prefecture of Etoloakarnania, 6 km SW of the city of Vonitsa and 10 km east of the northern tip of the island of Levkás (Leukás, Lefkada). The lake is separated from the Ionian Sea on the West by a narrow limestone ridge ca 10 m high and has a size of 940 ha. An almost continuous fringe of Phragmites surrounds the open water. This reed bank is up to 500 m wide along the southern shore of the lake. Water depth is low, predominantly less than 2 m. In the south-eastern part of the lake a maximum depth of 3.1 m was measured in September 1997.

Avian occupancy probabilities, vegetation structure, and presence of Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in eastern and central Oklahoma (2009-2011)

Changes in land use and land cover throughout the eastern half of North America have caused substantial declines in populations of birds that rely on grassland and shrubland vegetation types, including socially and economically important game birds such as the Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter bobwhites). As much attention is focused on habitat management and restoration for bobwhites, they may act as an umbrella species for other bird species with similar habitat requirements. We quantified the relationship of bobwhites to the overall bird community and evaluated the potential for bobwhites to act as an umbrella species for grassland and shrubland birds. We monitored bobwhite presence and bird community composition within 31 sample units on selected private lands in the south-central United States from 2009 to 2011. Bobwhites were strongly associated with other grassland and shrubland birds and were a significant positive predictor for 9 species. Seven of these, including Bell's Vireo (Vireo bellii), Dicksissel (Spiza americana), and Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), are listed as species of conservation concern. Species richness and occupancy probability of grassland and shrubland birds were higher relative to the overall bird community in sample units occupied by bobwhites. Our results show that bobwhites can act as an umbrella species for grassland and shrubland birds, although the specific species in any given situation will depend on region and management objectives. These results suggest that efficiency in conservation funding can be increased by using public interest in popular game species to leverage resources to meet multiple conservation objectives.

(Table 3) Liver weight, blood liver parameters, and blood plasma PCB concentrations in 14 sledge dog bitches and their 14 pups in Aasiaat, west Greenland

We assessed the relationship between exposure to organohalogen polluted minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) blubber and liver morphology and function in a generational controlled study of 28 Greenland sledge dogs (Canis familiaris). The prevalence of portal fibrosis, mild bile duct hyperplasia, and vascular leukocyte infiltrations was significantly higher in the exposed group (all Chi-square: p<0.05). In case of granulomas, the frequency was significantly highest in the bitches (P generation) while the prevalence of portal fibrosis was highest in the F generation (pups) (both Chi-square: p<0.05). No significant difference between exposed and controls was found for bile acid, ALAT, and ALKP, while ASAT and LDH were significantly highest in the control group (both ANOVA: p<0.05). We therefore suggest that a daily intake of 50-200 g environmentally organohalogen polluted minke whale blubber can cause liver lesions in Greenland sledge dogs. It is reasonable to infer that other apex predators such as polar bears (Ursus maritimus) and humans may suffer from similar impacts.