Tag: mercury

Narwhal tusks can tell researchers a lot about the marine mammals’ feeding habits and exposure to dangerous chemicals. “They’re kind of like tree rings,” said Jean-Pierre Desforges, a postdoctoral research...

The tips of watersnakes’ tails retain levels of mercury that could indicate how contaminated rivers and streams are with toxins. “One of the advantage of brown watersnakes is they have...

City life seems to benefit tree swallows in Ohio, but it also poses health consequences their rural counterparts don’t face. That’s the finding of a team of researchers who spent...

Seabirds in Canada and the Pacific Arctic show greater concentrations of mercury contamination than their Arctic European counterparts, according to a meta-review. Although most of the Canadian seabirds had concentrations...

When Gregory Bossart began studying lesions on Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) populations over 10 years ago, he didn’t know the extent to which they would point to negative impacts...

Climate change hasn’t been kind to the polar bear (Ursus maritimus), which has seen its traditional habitat dwindle as sea ice melts. But the rising mercury in thermometers in the...

An extensive analysis led by the U.S. Geological Survey has found widespread mercury contamination in western habitats and wildlife. Mercury levels varied from place to place, fluctuating with factors such...

Marine mammals are so polluted that they are poisoning endangered condors, according to a new study. California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) that fed on marine mammal carcasses had high blood levels...

Coupled with threats such as habitat destruction and climate change in Alaska’s Arctic, high levels of mercury discovered recently in shorebirds could create further challenges for the species. In a...

The decline of endangered Arctic ivory gulls (Pagophila eburnea) in Canada might be due to a dramatic increase in mercury levels over the past 130 years, a recent study shows....