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Main Authors: Lefebvre, Kathi A, Charapata, Patrick, Stimmelmayr, Raphaela, Lin, Peigen, Pickart, Robert S, Hubbard, Katherine A, Bill, Brian D, Sheffield, Gay, Bowers, Emily K, Anderson, Donald M, Fachon, Evangeline, Thoman, Rick
Format: Artículo científico
Language:en
Published: Nature 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40634613/
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author Lefebvre, Kathi A
Charapata, Patrick
Stimmelmayr, Raphaela
Lin, Peigen
Pickart, Robert S
Hubbard, Katherine A
Bill, Brian D
Sheffield, Gay
Bowers, Emily K
Anderson, Donald M
Fachon, Evangeline
Thoman, Rick
author_facet Lefebvre, Kathi A
Charapata, Patrick
Stimmelmayr, Raphaela
Lin, Peigen
Pickart, Robert S
Hubbard, Katherine A
Bill, Brian D
Sheffield, Gay
Bowers, Emily K
Anderson, Donald M
Fachon, Evangeline
Thoman, Rick
Lefebvre, Kathi A
Charapata, Patrick
Stimmelmayr, Raphaela
Lin, Peigen
Pickart, Robert S
Hubbard, Katherine A
Bill, Brian D
Sheffield, Gay
Bowers, Emily K
Anderson, Donald M
Fachon, Evangeline
Thoman, Rick
collection PubMed - marine biology
contents Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming. Lefebvre, Kathi A Charapata, Patrick Stimmelmayr, Raphaela Lin, Peigen Pickart, Robert S Hubbard, Katherine A Bill, Brian D Sheffield, Gay Bowers, Emily K Anderson, Donald M Fachon, Evangeline Thoman, Rick Animals Arctic Regions Global Warming Food Chain Feces Bowhead Whale Seawater Marine Toxins Harmful Algal Bloom Ice Cover Oceans and Seas Female Male Over the last two decades, ocean warming and rapid loss of sea ice have dramatically changed the Pacific Arctic marine environment. These changes are predicted to increase harmful algal bloom prevalence and toxicity, as rising temperatures and larger open water areas are more favourable for growth of some toxic algal species. It is well known that algal toxins are transferred through food webs during blooms and can have negative impacts on wildlife and human health. Yet, there are no long-term quantitative reports on algal toxin presence in Arctic food webs to evaluate increasing exposure risks. In the present study, algal toxins were quantified in bowel samples collected from 205 bowhead whales harvested for subsistence purposes over 19 years. These filter-feeding whales served as integrated food web samplers for algal toxin presence in the Beaufort Sea as it relates to changing environmental conditions over two decades. Algal toxin prevalences and concentrations were significantly correlated with ocean heat flux, open water area, wind velocity and atmospheric pressure. These results provide confirmative oceanic, atmospheric and biological evidence for increasing algal toxin concentrations in Arctic food webs due to warming ocean conditions. This approach elucidates breakthrough mechanistic connections between warming oceans and increasing algal toxin exposure risks to Arctic wildlife, which threatens food security for Native Alaskan communities that have been reliant on marine resources for subsistence for 5,000 years (ref. ).
format Artículo científico
id pubmed_40634613
institution PubMed
language en
publishDate 2025
publisher Nature
record_format pubmed
spellingShingle Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming.
Lefebvre, Kathi A
Charapata, Patrick
Stimmelmayr, Raphaela
Lin, Peigen
Pickart, Robert S
Hubbard, Katherine A
Bill, Brian D
Sheffield, Gay
Bowers, Emily K
Anderson, Donald M
Fachon, Evangeline
Thoman, Rick
Animals
Arctic Regions
Global Warming
Food Chain
Feces
Bowhead Whale
Seawater
Marine Toxins
Harmful Algal Bloom
Ice Cover
Oceans and Seas
Female
Male
Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming. Lefebvre, Kathi A Charapata, Patrick Stimmelmayr, Raphaela Lin, Peigen Pickart, Robert S Hubbard, Katherine A Bill, Brian D Sheffield, Gay Bowers, Emily K Anderson, Donald M Fachon, Evangeline Thoman, Rick Animals Arctic Regions Global Warming Food Chain Feces Bowhead Whale Seawater Marine Toxins Harmful Algal Bloom Ice Cover Oceans and Seas Female Male Over the last two decades, ocean warming and rapid loss of sea ice have dramatically changed the Pacific Arctic marine environment. These changes are predicted to increase harmful algal bloom prevalence and toxicity, as rising temperatures and larger open water areas are more favourable for growth of some toxic algal species. It is well known that algal toxins are transferred through food webs during blooms and can have negative impacts on wildlife and human health. Yet, there are no long-term quantitative reports on algal toxin presence in Arctic food webs to evaluate increasing exposure risks. In the present study, algal toxins were quantified in bowel samples collected from 205 bowhead whales harvested for subsistence purposes over 19 years. These filter-feeding whales served as integrated food web samplers for algal toxin presence in the Beaufort Sea as it relates to changing environmental conditions over two decades. Algal toxin prevalences and concentrations were significantly correlated with ocean heat flux, open water area, wind velocity and atmospheric pressure. These results provide confirmative oceanic, atmospheric and biological evidence for increasing algal toxin concentrations in Arctic food webs due to warming ocean conditions. This approach elucidates breakthrough mechanistic connections between warming oceans and increasing algal toxin exposure risks to Arctic wildlife, which threatens food security for Native Alaskan communities that have been reliant on marine resources for subsistence for 5,000 years (ref. ).
title Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming.
topic Animals
Arctic Regions
Global Warming
Food Chain
Feces
Bowhead Whale
Seawater
Marine Toxins
Harmful Algal Bloom
Ice Cover
Oceans and Seas
Female
Male
url https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40634613/