Hi MARMAM Community,
On behalf of my coauthors, I am excited to share with you our new publication entitled: “Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming” published open-access in
Nature. The abstract and citation are below and a link to the paper can be found
here.
Abstract
Over the last two decades, ocean warming and rapid loss of sea ice have dramatically changed the Pacific Arctic marine environment1,2,3.
These changes are predicted to increase harmful algal bloom prevalence and toxicity, as rising temperatures and larger open water areas are more favourable for growth of some toxic algal species4.
It is well known that algal toxins are transferred through food webs during blooms and can have negative impacts on wildlife and human health5,6,7.
Yet, there are no long-term quantitative reports on algal toxin presence in Arctic food webs to evaluate increasing exposure risks. In the present study, algal toxins were quantified in bowel samples collected from 205 bowhead whales harvested for subsistence
purposes over 19 years. These filter-feeding whales served as integrated food web samplers for algal toxin presence in the Beaufort Sea
as it relates to changing environmental conditions over two decades. Algal toxin prevalences and concentrations were significantly correlated with ocean heat flux, open water area, wind velocity and atmospheric pressure. These results provide confirmative
oceanic, atmospheric and biological evidence for increasing algal toxin concentrations in Arctic food webs due to warming ocean conditions. This approach elucidates breakthrough mechanistic connections between warming oceans and increasing algal toxin exposure
risks to Arctic wildlife, which threatens food security for Native Alaskan communities that have been reliant on marine resources for subsistence for 5,000 years
(ref. 8).
Citation
Lefebvre, K.A., Charapata, P., Stimmelmayr, R. et al. Bowhead whale faeces link increasing algal toxins in the Arctic to ocean warming. Nature (2025).
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-09230-5
If you have any questions, please contact lead author Kathi Lefebvre at
Kathi.lefebvre@noaa.gov.
Thank you!!
Cheers,
Patrick
Patrick Charapata, PhD
Email: pcharapata@georgiaaquarium.org
Research Scientist
IUCN – Center for Species Survival
