کد مقاله کد نشریه سال انتشار مقاله انگلیسی نسخه تمام متن
5750382 1619697 2017 10 صفحه PDF دانلود رایگان
عنوان انگلیسی مقاله ISI
Blubber-depth distribution and bioaccumulation of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in Arctic-invading killer whales
موضوعات مرتبط
علوم زیستی و بیوفناوری علوم محیط زیست شیمی زیست محیطی
پیش نمایش صفحه اول مقاله
Blubber-depth distribution and bioaccumulation of PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in Arctic-invading killer whales
چکیده انگلیسی


- POP levels in Greenland orcas may be due to feeding both on fish and marine mammals.
- Levels of POPs decreased from sub-adults > adult males > adult females > fetuses.
- Limited variation found in lipid weight POP levels among full-depth blubber layers
- Biopsies may be a reasonable representation of POP levels in killer whale blubber.

Sightings of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Greenland have increased in recent years, coincident with sea ice loss. These killer whales are likely from fish-feeding North Atlantic populations, but may have access to marine mammal prey in Greenlandic waters, which could lead to increased exposures to biomagnifying contaminants. Most studies on polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and organochlorine (OC) contaminants in killer whales have used biopsies which may not be representative of contaminant concentrations through the entire blubber depth. Here, we measured PCB and OC concentrations in 10 equal-length blubber sections of 18 killer whales harvested in southeast Greenland (2012-2014), and 3 stranded in the Faroe Islands (2008) and Denmark (2005). Overall, very high concentrations of ΣPCB, Σchlordanes (ΣCHL), and Σdichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (ΣDDT) were found in the southeast Greenland and Denmark individuals (means of ~ 40 to 70 mg kg− 1 lipid weight). These concentrations were higher than in the Faroe Island individuals (means of ~ 2 to 5 mg kg− 1 lipid weight) and above those previously reported for other fish-feeding killer whales in the North Atlantic, likely in part due to additional feeding on marine mammals. On a wet weight basis, concentrations of all contaminants were significantly lower in the outermost blubber layer (0.15-0.65 cm) compared to all other layers (p < 0.01), except for Σhexachlorocyclohexanes. However, after lipid correction, no variation was found for ΣCHL and Σchlorobenzene concentrations, while the outermost layer(s) still showed significantly lower ΣPCB, ΣDDT, Σmirex, Σendosulfan, and dieldrin concentrations than one or more of the inner layers. Yet, the magnitude of these differences was low (up to 2-fold) suggesting that a typical biopsy may be a reasonable representation of the PCB and OC concentrations reported in killer whales, at least on a lipid weight basis.

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ناشر
Database: Elsevier - ScienceDirect (ساینس دایرکت)
Journal: Science of The Total Environment - Volumes 601–602, 1 December 2017, Pages 237-246
نویسندگان
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