19 August
2006 - East Greenland polar bears suffer from
reduced size of genitalia due to chemical (xenoendocrine)
pollutants.
New scientific results show
that there probably is a link between the size
of East Greenland polar bear genitalia and levels
of some endocrine disrupting xeno-pollutants polychlorinated
biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethanes
(DDT), dieldrin, chlordanes, hexacyclohexanes,
hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and polybrominated diphenyl
ethers (PBDEs). High levels of pollution hence
show a reduced size of genitalia (testis length
and baculum length and weight, ovary length and
weight and uterine horn length). Also the baculum
bone mineral densities decreased with increasing
concentrations of some of the xeno-pollutants
(chlordanes, DDTs and HCB) in the male bears.
The study is conducted by an international research
team lead by The National Environmental Research
Institute in Denmark (Dr. Senior Scientist Christian
Sonne) that publish the remarkable new results
in the scientific journal Environmental Science
and Technology.
Remarkable
The new results are remarkable
as it is now possible to link the size of genitalia
to pollution loads in wild mammals. This relationship
is now probable and will have an impact on the
way body burdens of xenoendocrine pollutants will
be interpreted in the future, as a smaller size
of genitalia causes lesser chance of reproductive
success.
The new research results once
again emphasize the fact that polar bears - especially
in East Greenland - are heavily polluted by long-range
transported pollutants from the Western world
and Eurasia. The results clearly show that xenoendocrine
pollutants can have fatal effects on nature. Furthermore,
the new results may give the link between infertility
and xenoendocrine pollutants in humans.
See the results in the scientific
article ”Xenoendocrine Pollutants May Reduce Size
of Sexual Organs in East Greenland Polar Bears
(Ursus maritimus )” published in Environmental
Science and Technology Volume 40 No. 16 August
15 2006.
