FREDERIKSBORGVEJ, Denmark, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- A Danish study suggests exposure to high levels of pollutants called organohalogen compounds may reduce the size of sexual organs in polar bears.
Organohalogen compounds, or OHCs, include dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls and some pesticides.
Christian Sonne and colleagues at Denmark's National Environmental Research Institute checked 55 male and 44 female East Greenland polar bears for a correlation between OHC levels in body tissue and size of sexual organs.
Sonne's group wanted to determine OHC's possible effects on reproduction in polar bears, a vulnerable population because of their low reproductive rates. The bears have elevated OHC levels, due to a diet that includes seals, which accumulate large amounts of OHCs in their blubber.
The study shows a connection between OHC levels and reduced size of the uterus in female bears and reduced size of the testis and baculum in males. A large baculum, or penis, is critical for successful mating in an arctic climate, the researchers note, and even slight decreases may interfere with reproduction.
The scientists say similar physiological impacts may occur in humans relying on OHC-contaminated food resources.
The research is to appear in the Sept. 15 issue of the journal Environmental Science & Technology.
