Effects of pollutants in Svalbard marine mammals faced by the climate change - collaboration between Norway and Italy

Decline in the Arctic sea-ice leads to changes in available habitat for marine mammals. Loss of sea-ice will lead to increased energetic costs of foraging, thermoregulating etc. in ice-associated Arctic marine mammals. Ice-associated marine mammals are also subject to accumulation of high concentrations of pollutants; particularly high concentrations have been detected in walruses. Combinations of multiple stressors such as climate change and pollutant exposure have been proposed as a worst-case scenario for Arctic wildlife. We hypothesize that high levels of emerging and legacy contaminants in walruses affect their physiological functions that are necessary to adapt to climate change, such as energy regulation. Thus, we aim to investigate endocrine disruptive effects of pollutants in walruses, with particular focus on energy metabolism and thermoregulation. Furthermore, we aim to develop non-invasive methods to study pollutant effects in blue and fin whales, which are increasingly present in Svalbard fjords due to the climate change. Due to their filter feeding habits, blue and fin whales are likely exposed to high levels of pollutants through ingestion of microplastics. Microplastics are present at high quantities at the Barents Sea, and endocrine disruptive chemicals are additives or bound to microplastics. We apply a mobility grant for a young research from Norway to stay three months in Italy. That would allow her to 1) write a scientific publication on pollutant effects in walruses faced by the climate change and 2) develop methods to study pollutants and their effects in whales from Svalbard in collaboration with an Italian research group. The collaboration between Italy and Norway would increase the visibility of the Norwegian Arctic research internationally, strengthen international collaboration and increase the competence of Norwegian researchers.