PCBs and DDT Threaten Arctic Gull

Long-lasting industrial pollutants are threatening the ivory gull, a small Arctic bird, Norwegian scientists report. The Norwegian Polar Institute found record levels of PCBs and the pesticide DDT in ivory gull eggs collected off northern Norway and Russia. Arctic levels of many persistent pollutants — which accumulate in the environment and in the body fat of birds, fish, and mammals — have declined in recent years. But Canada’s ivory gull population has reportedly dropped by 80 percent, triggering the Norwegian survey. A Polar Institute scientist explained the ivory gulls’ heavy toxic burden by noting that, as predators and scavengers, they are high on the food chain. In another threat, the birds’ habitat is shrinking along with Arctic sea ice.