Polar bears ill from accumulated environmental toxins

POLLUTION - New doctoral thesis documents that industrial chemicals are transported from the industrialised world to the Arctic via air and sea currents. Here, the cocktail of environmental toxins is absorbed by the sea’s food chains which are so rich in fats and of which the polar bear is the top predator.

 

Christian Sonne holds an MSc in Veterinary Medicine from the former Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, now LIFE – the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Copenhagen (1999), and a PhD in Ecotoxicology from Aarhus University.

 

The title of Christian Sonne’s doctoral thesis is: ‘Health effects from long-range transported contaminants in Arctic top predators: An integrated review based on studies of polar bears and relevant model species’.

 

The defence will take place on Friday 14 October at 1 pm at LIFE – the Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, Lecture hall 1-01, Bülowsvej 17, Frederiksberg.

 

Read more about the research in the press release.