{"id":661509,"date":"2025-04-08T19:34:48","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T16:34:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T19:34:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T16:34:48","slug":"high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds\/","title":{"rendered":"High mercury levels found in Svalbard birds"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27820b834a0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a27820b834a0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds\/#Struggling_to_survive\" >Struggling to survive<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds\/#Climate_change_and_avian_influenza\" >Climate change and avian influenza<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds\/#Changes_in_food_availability_and_diet\" >Changes in food availability and diet<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds\/#Melting_glaciers_release_pollutants\" >Melting glaciers release pollutants<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/high-mercury-levels-found-in-svalbard-birds\/#Coal_and_industry_in_Asia\" >Coal and industry in Asia<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/high-mercury-levels-fo.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/high-mercury-levels-fo.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Black-legged kittiwakes are the most numerous gull in the world. But the species is classified as Critically Endangered on the mainland, and Near Threatened on Svalbard. Credit: Geir Wing Gabrielsen\/Norwegian Polar Institute\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/high-mercury-levels-fo.jpg\" alt=\"High mercury levels found in Svalbard birds\" title=\"Black-legged kittiwakes are the most numerous gull in the world. But the species is classified as Critically Endangered on the mainland, and Near Threatened on Svalbard. Credit: Geir Wing Gabrielsen\/Norwegian Polar Institute\" width=\"800\" height=\"388\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Black-legged kittiwakes are the most numerous gull in the world. But the species is classified as Critically Endangered on the mainland, and Near Threatened on Svalbard. Credit: Geir Wing Gabrielsen\/Norwegian Polar Institute<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The arrows for Norwegian seabird populations are pointing downward. Researchers have now recorded mercury levels above the threshold for effects in seabirds that live on Svalbard.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t know what effect this has on the population level, but we know that mercury affects reproduction, behavior and survival,&#8221; says Silje Lundgren, from NTNU&#8217;s Department of Biology.<\/p>\n<p>Mercury is toxic to both humans and animals, even in small concentrations. It affects the hormonal and immune systems and can cause damage to the nervous system.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Struggling_to_survive\"><\/span>Struggling to survive<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Lundgren studied the occurrence of a number of heavy metals and environmental toxins in Svalbard birds as part of her master&#8217;s thesis at NTNU, supervised by Professor Veerle Jaspers. In July 2017, she took samples of feathers from adult black-legged kittiwakes and Br\u00fcnnich&#8217;s guillemots in Kongsfjorden on Svalbard, as well as samples of blood plasma from the kittiwakes.<\/p>\n<p>The results, which have been <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/linkinghub.elsevier.com\/retrieve\/pii\/S0048969724060510\" target=\"_blank\">published<\/a> in <i><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science<\/a> of the Total Environment<\/i>, showed high levels of mercury in both bird species, with the level in the kittiwakes exceeding the threshold for potential reproductive effects.<\/p>\n<p>In the kittiwakes, the level of mercury was higher than what has been found previously in studies of seabirds in the Arctic.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;High concentrations of mercury will not necessarily have a negative impact on the individual level. But seabirds in <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/general\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"3\" title=\"General\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">general<\/a> are struggling with survival and reproduction, and mercury can then be a factor contributing to population decline, along with other things,&#8221; Lundgren said.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Climate_change_and_avian_influenza\"><\/span>Climate change and avian influenza<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Researcher Geir Wing Gabrielsen from the Norwegian Polar Institute has followed Norwegian seabird populations with argus eyes for several decades. He agrees with Lundgren that high mercury levels can be one of several unfortunate factors for the seabirds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Seabird populations are declining faster than other bird populations. On the Norwegian mainland, there has been a drastic decline in the number of seabird species in recent years,&#8221; Gabrielsen said.<\/p>\n<p>Norway&#8217;s national monitoring program (SEAPOP) follows 35 species of seabirds. Of these, 13 species have been reduced by more than 50% in the last 20 years.<\/p>\n<p>Climate change, pollution, loss of breeding areas, hunting and diseases (including avian influenza) are to blame.<\/p>\n<p>In the Arctic, where the temperature increase due to global warming has been the highest in the world, land ice is now melting. This means that metals and environmental pollutants stored in snow and ice are released and enter the food chain.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The lion&#8217;s share of the pollution in the Arctic comes from Asia, where they have a high consumption of coal, including in industrial production. When air masses blowing north meet northern winds, the pollution is deposited in snow and ice,&#8221; Gabrielsen said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2025\/high-mercury-levels-fo-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/high-mercury-levels-fo-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: &lt;i&gt;Science of The Total Environment&lt;\/i&gt; (2024). DOI: 10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2024.175895\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2025\/high-mercury-levels-fo-1.jpg\" alt=\"High mercury levels found in Svalbard birds\" title=\"Credit: Science of The Total Environment (2024). DOI: 10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2024.175895\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Credit: <i>Science of The Total Environment<\/i> (2024). DOI: 10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2024.175895<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ads w-100 my-4 article-main__more bg-light p-3 border\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-3\">\n        Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over <strong>100,000 subscribers<\/strong> who rely on Phys.org for daily insights.<br \/>\n        Sign up for our <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/sciencex.com\/help\/newsletter\/\" target=\"_blank\">free newsletter<\/a> and get updates on breakthroughs,<br \/>\n        innovations, and research that matter\u2014<strong>daily or weekly<\/strong>.\n    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Changes_in_food_availability_and_diet\"><\/span>Changes in food availability and diet<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In Svalbard, 57% of the land area is covered by glaciers, and more than 900 km of the coastline has glaciers that break off, &#8220;calving,&#8221; into the sea. In total, this means that 45 billion tons of meltwater mixed with sediments flows into the coastal waters every year.<\/p>\n<p>The land-based sea ice in Svalbard fjords is dis<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>earing. At the same time, climate change is causing warm, Atlantic water to flow northward, bringing with it animals and other organisms from lower latitudes.<\/p>\n<p>Seabirds such as the kittiwake and the Br\u00fcnnich&#8217;s guillemot, which previously lived on polar cod, have switched to eating Atlantic fish species, such as herring, capelin and krill.<\/p>\n<p>This has had a positive effect on some seabird species in Svalbard. Food access has been good. At the same time, researchers are finding a connection between what the birds eat and their mercury levels.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Melting_glaciers_release_pollutants\"><\/span>Melting glaciers release pollutants<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Researchers at the Polar Institute have seen how mercury levels in the kittiwakes on Svalbard increased after the birds changed their diet from Arctic to Atlantic fish species.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;This was primarily linked to an increase in the temperature in the surroundings and in the ocean,&#8221; says Gabrielsen.<\/p>\n<p>Svalbard is now warming twice as fast as the rest of the Arctic, and five times faster than the global average.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;When the glaciers melt, the pollution stored in the glaciers will be released and flow into the sea. The mercury is taken up by nutrient organisms in the fjord. This causes the kittiwakes feeding in the fjord to have increased mercury levels,&#8221; says Gabrielsen.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Coal_and_industry_in_Asia\"><\/span>Coal and industry in Asia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>According to AMAP (the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Program), Asian countries accounted for half of the world&#8217;s mercury emissions to the atmosphere in 2015. Much of this is due to the use of coal as an energy source. The researchers believe that it is urgent to get Asian countries like China to reduce their emissions.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Today, industry produces 250,000 different environmental pollutants that are released into the natural environment via the atmosphere, rivers and ocean currents. The chemical industry is the fastest growing in the world,&#8221; Gabrielsen says.<\/p>\n<p>The NTNU researchers have an ongoing project with NINA, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, on the Interactive effects of pollutants and climate on seabirds in Arctic Coastal ecosystems (ClimACTox).<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Mercury is also one of the priority pollutants under investigation in that project, meaning we will follow up on the levels in different seabirds along with their population trajectories in Norway and on Svalbard,&#8221; Jaspers said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-main__more p-4\">\n<p><strong>More information:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSilje S. Lundgren et al, Metals and other trace elements in plasma and feathers of seabirds breeding in Svalbard, <i>Science of The Total Environment<\/i> (2024). <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" data-doi=\"1\" href=\"https:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2024.175895\" target=\"_blank\">DOI: 10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2024.175895<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium mt-4\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNorwegian University of Science and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ntnu.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/phys.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v6\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHigh mercury levels found in Svalbard birds (2025, April 8)<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 8 April 2025<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-04-high-mercury-svalbard-birds.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. 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Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-04-high-mercury-svalbard-birds.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Black-legged kittiwakes are the most numerous gull in the world. But the species is classified as Critically Endangered on the mainland, and Near Threatened on Svalbard. Credit: Geir Wing Gabrielsen\/Norwegian Polar Institute The arrows for Norwegian seabird populations are pointing downward. Researchers have now recorded mercury levels above the threshold for effects in seabirds that&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":661512,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2025\/high-mercury-levels-fo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-661509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661512"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}