Contaminants

Mercury

• Pinnipeds

  METAL has been investigating the mercury concentration in tissues from Steller sea lions and other northern Pacific Ocean pinnipeds.

  Most notably we continue to find elevated total mercury concentrations in a significant proportion of Steller sea lion pups from some areas of the western Aleutian Islands. We have also found that the median concentrations in these areas have increased, in comparison to our original measurements from 2011.

  Here are some presentations of our finding of pinniped total mercury concentrations:

  Relationships among Mercury Concentrations, Sea Surface Temperature, and Survival in Steller Sea Lion Pups in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, Rea et al., 2024 SETAC poster

  Total mercury concentrations in fur of three ice-associated seal species in the Bering Sea, Crawford et al., 2024 AMSS poster

  Mercury concentrations in adult female northern fur seals from the Pribilof Islands, Gologergen et al., 2024 AMSS poster

  Increasing mercury concentrations in Steller sea lion pups at Agattu Island, western Aleutian Islands, Alaska (presentation), Crawford et al., 2019 AMSS

  Increasing mercury concentrations in Steller sea lion pups at Agattu Island, western Aleutian Islands, Alaska (poster), Crawford et al., 2019 AMSS

  Comparison of total mercury concentrations in hair of three pinniped species from the Aleutian Islands and Bering Sea, Alaska, Rea et al. 2017 SMM poster

  Regional differences in total mercury content of Aleutian harbor seal fur, Avery et al., 2017