The densely packed icy regions of the Arctic may be the only place on Earth contaminated by pollutants not caused by humans, but rather by… seabirds, particularly the Arctic gulls.
This migratory bird species often absorbs pollutants such as DDT and mercury through its food and disperses them (through waste) wherever it goes. To demonstrate this, a group of biologists from the University of Ottawa attached measuring devices to 10,000 pairs of gulls living in the Devon Island area and the Arctic regions of Canada.
The results obtained show that pollution levels in these areas are significantly higher than in surrounding regions. Specifically, DDT levels are 60 times higher, mercury is 25 times higher, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) is 10 times higher. These pollutants are commonly found mixed in the food (fish, squid, waste, etc.) discovered in the stomachs of these seabirds.
