Jennifer Bourque, Jean-Pierre Desforges, Milton Levin, Todd C Atwood, Christian Sonne, Rune Dietz, Trine H Jensen, Erin Curry, Melissa A McKinney
Assessing polar bear (Ursus maritimus) immune function in relation to environmental stressors, including habitat change, nutritional stress, pathogen prevalence, and pollution, has been identified as critical for improved understanding of the species' health. The objectives of this study were two-fold: 1) to assess the role of climate-associated factors (habitat use, body condition) in explaining the plasma concentrations of contaminants in southern Beaufort Sea (SB) polar bears, and 2) to investigate how climate-associated factors, contaminant concentrations, and pathogen sero-prevalence influence the plasma concentrations of immune-signaling proteins called cytokines...
July 17, 2020: Science of the Total Environment