Is Defrosting Pole a Problem for Pollutants in Predators?
Melissa McKinney, Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University
Climate change is expected to impact species at high latitudes directly through physical changes to the environment and indirectly through changing interactions between species. Vertical interactions, also known as predator-prey interactions, are thought to be particularly important, and are also the major route of exposure to predators of key contaminants of Arctic concern, including mercury and persistent organic pollutants. A series of studies will be presented showing how climate-driven changes in species interactions can affect pollutant exposures of top Arctic marine predators, underscoring the need to consider multiple stressors facing wildlife in a changing polar environment.