ABSTRACT
The at-sea distribution of top predators, seabirds and marine mammals, was determined in the high Arctic pack ice on board the icebreaker RV Polarstern in July to September 2014. In total, 1,620 transect counts were realised, lasting 30 min each. The five most numerous seabird species represented 74% of the total of 15,150 individuals registered: kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, fulmar Fulmarus glacialis, puffin Fratercula arctica, Ross's gull Rhodostethia rosea, and little auk Alle alle. Eight cetacean species were tallied for a total of 330 individuals, mainly white-beaked dolphin Lagenorhynchus albirostris and fin whale Balaenoptera physalus. Five pinniped species were represented by a total of 55 individuals and the polar bear Ursus maritimus was represented by 12 individuals. Four main geographical zones were identified: from Tromsø to the outer marginal ice zone (OMIZ), the Arctic pack ice (close pack ice, CPI), the end of Lomonosov Ridge off Siberia, and the route off Siberia and northern Norway. Important differences were detected between zones, both in species composition and in individual abundance. Low numbers of species and high proportion of individuals for some of them can be considered to reflect very low biodiversity. Numbers encountered in zones 2 to 4 were very low in comparison with other European Arctic seas. The observed differences showed strong patterns.
ABSTRACT
Three bivalves: Anadara (Senilia) senilis (n=220), Crassostrea tulipa (n=260) from two 'open' lagoons (Benya and Ningo) and a 'closed' lagoon (Sakumo), and Perna perna (n=170) from rocky shores adjacent to Benya and Sakumo, were analyzed for their total and organic Hg concentrations and total body burden. Median concentrations for cockles were 0.20 micro/gdw for the wet season and 0.36 microg/gdw for the dry season. Total mercury concentration for both mussels and oysters ranged from 0.04 to 0.84 microg/gdw. Seasonal variations and age effect were detected in all the species but no significant spatial variation was found along the coast. Organic (methyl) mercury concentration ranged from 0.03 to 0.55 microg/gdw was stable without age effect. The median relative organic mercury varied between 30 and 80% depending on the season, location, species and the type of lagoon. The lower concentrations in the wet season were due to primary production and dilution effect. Log-transformed regression relationships between body burden and size were used to compare the species.
