An assessment of contaminant concentrations in toothed whale species of the NW Iberian Peninsula: Part I. Persistent organic pollutants

Meli, Paula; Webster, Lynda; Chouvelon, Tiphaine; Bustamante, Paco; Ferreira, Marisa; González, Ángel F.; López, Alfredo; Moffat, Colin F.; Pierce, Graham J.; Read, F.L.; Russell, Martin J.; Santos, M.B.; Spitz, Jérôme; Vingada, José; Caurant, Florence

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.045

Cited by 14 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…These levels were generally higher than those reported in immature male porpoises (1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)) from the Baltic Sea (1.1-13 mg g À1 lipids) and the Kattegat-Skagerrak Seas (1.0-10 mg g À1 lipids). 22 Similarly, juvenile porpoises stranded in our study exhibited higher CB 153 contents compared to juvenile porpoises from the southern North Sea stranded between 1994 and 2004 (0.2-13.4 mg g À1 lipids) 19 and those from the North West Iberian Peninsula stranded between 2004 and 2008 (2.9 AE 0.8 mg g À1 lipids) 23 ( Table 1). However, caution should be taken in interpreting the ndings of the present study since the total sample size of 20 individuals may be relatively small for temporal comparisons.…”

Section: Pcb Levelssupporting

confidence: 49%

“…25 Moreover, 74% of harbour porpoises from the southern North Sea 25 and 75% of the harbour porpoises from the North West Iberian Peninsula exceeded this threshold. 23 However, caution should be taken when applying this threshold, since this value was derived from the liver of laboratory aquatic mammals (seals, European otters and minks) that were fed with eld food items. The extrapolation of this threshold level to the blubber of stranded harbour porpoises that were feeding on a variety of prey species may be questionable.…”

Section: Pcb Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organochlorines in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded along the southern North Sea between 2010 and 2013

Mahfouz

Henry

Jauniaux

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts

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7 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 6 dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDXs) and 8 polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were measured in the blubber of 20 harbour porpoises stranded on the coasts of the southern North Sea between 2010 and 2013. The results showed that porpoises that died from infectious diseases displayed significantly higher levels of PCBs in their blubber compared to healthy porpoises that died from physical trauma. P 7CBs and P DDXs were higher in juvenile porpoises compared to adult females. Except for three individuals, PBDE concentrations were below the limit of quantification in the blubber samples treated. In general, levels of PCBs and DDXs obtained in the blubber of porpoises from this study were in the same order of magnitude or even lower than those obtained in the blubber of porpoises stranded along the North East Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea over the period 1987 and 2013. The results of the present study suggest that even if the status of marine pollution has been improved, a continuous long-term contamination by toxic organochlorines over many generations may be observed. Environmental impactThis paper investigated organochlorine concentrations and proles in the blubber of stranded harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) along the southern North Sea between 2010 and 2013. In the last decade, porpoise stranding has increased in French, Belgian and Dutch coastal waters. Since organochlorines are known to exert immunotoxicity in harbour porpoise individuals, special interest may be accorded to the contaminant levels in their organs and tissues. Based on the results, the paper relates polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) to the maturity status and the gender of stranded porpoises, along with the cause of death of porpoises whether it was a natural mortality or a death due to infectious diseases.

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Section: Pcb Levelssupporting

confidence: 49%

Section: Pcb Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organochlorines in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded along the southern North Sea between 2010 and 2013

Mahfouz

Henry

Jauniaux

et al. 2014

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts

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“…Blubber samples were previously analysed for polychlorinated biphenyls and for lipid content (Méndez-Fernandez et al, 2014). Briefly, approximately 200 mg of blubber was cut (i.e.…”

Section: Lipid Determination and Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The methods employed were validated by the replicate analysis of standards and samples, regular blank controls, and through spiking experiments or analysis of certified and laboratory reference materials (LRM; cod liver oil), following the same procedure as in Méndez-Fernandez et al (2014).…”

Section: Lipid Determination and Polychlorinated Biphenyl (Pcb) Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Inter-species differences in polychlorinated biphenyls patterns from five sympatric species of odontocetes: Can PCBs be used as tracers of feeding ecology?

Meli

Simon-Bouhet

Bustamante

et al. 2017

Ecological Indicators

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Concentrations of thirty two polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in the blubber of five sympatric species of odontocetes stranded or by-caught along the Northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula: common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Multivariate analyses were applied to evaluate the ability of PCB patterns to discriminate these sympatric species and to determine which eco-biological factors influence these patterns, thus evaluating the relevance of PCB concentrations as biogeochemical tracers of feeding ecology. The five species could be separated according to their PCB patterns. Different exposure to these contaminants, a consequence of their different dietary preferences or habitats, together with potentially dissimilar metabolic capacities, likely explain these results; sex, age, habitat and the type of prey eaten were the most important eco-biological parameters of those tested. Although, no single congener has been specifically identified as a tracer of feeding ecology, 4 congeners from the 22 analysed seemed to be the most useful and around 12 congeners appear to be enough to achieve good discrimination of the cetaceans studied. Therefore, this study suggests that PCB patterns can be used as tracers for studying the feeding ecology, sources of contamination or even population structure of cetacean species from the Northwest Iberian Peninsula.

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“…Strandings can provide valuable information on the presence and relative abundance of cetaceans in an area (e.g., López et al 2002;Siebert et al 2006;Leeney et al 2008;Truchon et al 2013), also allowing collection of samples to characterise life history, contaminant burdens, diet and feeding ecology, population genetics and other information for individuals and populations (López 2003;Pierce et al 2008;Fontaine et al 2010;Fernández et al 2011;Murphy et al 2013;Méndez-Fernandez et al 2014;Santos et al 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors driving patterns and trends in strandings of small cetaceans

et al. 2017

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The incidence of cetacean strandings is expected to depend on a combination of factors, including the distribution and abundance of the cetaceans, their prey, and causes of mortality (e.g., natural, fishery bycatch), as well as currents and winds which affect whether carcases reach the shore. We investigated spatiotemporal patterns and trends in the numbers of strandings of three species of small cetacean in Galicia (NW Spain) and their relationships with meteorological, oceanographic, prey abundance and fishing-related variables, aiming to disentangle the relationship that may exist between these factors, cetacean abundance and mortality off the coast. Strandings of 1166 common dolphins (Delphinus delphis), 118 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and 90 harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) during 2000 to 2013 were analysed. Generalised Additive and Generalised Additive Mixed model results showed that the variables which best explained the pattern of strandings of the three cetacean species were those related with local ocean meteorology (strength and direction of the North-South component of the winds and the number of days with South West winds) and the winter North Atlantic Oscillation Index. There were no significant relationships with indices of fishing effort or landings. Only bottlenose dolphin showed possible fluctuations in local abundance over the study period. There was no evidence of long-term trends in number of strandings in any of the species and their abundances were therefore considered to have been relatively stable during the study period.

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An assessment of contaminant concentrations in toothed whale species of the NW Iberian Peninsula: Part I. Persistent organic pollutants

Cited by 14 publications

References 76 publications

Organochlorines in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded along the southern North Sea between 2010 and 2013

Organochlorines in harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) stranded along the southern North Sea between 2010 and 2013

Inter-species differences in polychlorinated biphenyls patterns from five sympatric species of odontocetes: Can PCBs be used as tracers of feeding ecology?

Factors driving patterns and trends in strandings of small cetaceans

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