Oil-related contaminants in Arctic seabirds

We studied the concentrations of oil-related contaminants in 4 seabird species in the Baffin Bay - Davis Strait region in response to the regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which called for a greater understanding of the effects of natural oil seeps and anthropogenic released oil on ecosystems. We found that all seabird species examined have been exposed to naturally occurring types of oil, with levels of oil-related contaminants in coastal benthic feeding species higher than in the species that fed more offshore. There is a growing understanding of how oil pollution can affect aquatic ecosystems, including physical and chemical effects. One of the biggest challenges with detecting the effects of oil-related contaminants on biota is understanding background levels of contaminants due to natural sources and their effects prior to large scale oil and gas operations. Seabirds are effective indicators of pollution, and can be useful for tracking oil-related contaminants in the marine environment.