Pathology and toxicology of beluga whales from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada. Past, present and future

Martineau, Daniel; Guise, Sylvain De; Fournier, Michel; Shugart, Lee R.; Girard, Christiane; Lagacé, A.; Béland, Pierre

doi:10.1016/0048-9697(94)90088-4

Cited by 161 publications

(79 citation statements)

References 60 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The B[a]P exposure showing depressive effects in vitro in the present study (10 uM) is equivalent to 2.5 ppm, a concentration similar to that found in brain and liver (DNA adducts of B[a]P) of beluga whales of the St Lawrence Estuary (Quebec, Canada) and in liver (sum of 8 PAH) of South American fur seals of the Rio Grande, Brazil (Martineau et al, 1994;Fossi et al, 1997). Taken together, the data indicate that PAHs as well as PHAHs are immunotoxic marine contaminants with the potential to affect host resistance to disease in free-ranging pinnipeds and probably other marine mammals (and possibly human populations).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

“…Effects included decreased proliferation responses to Tcell mitogens as well as lymphoid cell death, lymphoid organ atrophy, altered lymphocyte subsets, apoptosis, decreased B-cell responses to mitogens and antigens, altered cytokine regulation, and changes in innate immune function. Despite evidence of widespread exposure of marine mammals to PAHs and their potential influence on health, and their recent identification as a research priority by the Marine Mammal Commission (1999), PAHs have received little attention in marine mammal research (Martineau et al, 1994;Fossi et al, 1997).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Proliferative Responses of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) T Lymphocytes to Model Marine Pollutants

Neale

Water²,

Harvey

et al. 2002

Journal of Immunology Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In recent years, population declines related to viral outbreaks in marine mammals have been associated with polluted coastal waters and high tissue concentrations of certain persistent, lipophilic contaminants. Such observations suggest a contributing role of contaminant-induced suppression of cell-mediated immunity leading to decreased host resistance. Here, we assessed the effects of the prototypic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), benzo [a]pyrene (B[a]P), and two polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), CB-156 and CB-80, on the T-cell proliferative response to mitogen in harbor seal peripheral lymphocytes. Despite the variability associated with our samples from free-ranging harbor seals, we observed a clear suppressive effect of B[a]P (10 uM) exposure on T cell mitogenesis. Exposures to 10 uM CB-156 and CB-80, and 1.0 and 0.1 uM B[a]P, did not produce significant depression in lymphoproliferation. Exposure to the model PAH at 10 uM resulted in a 61% (range 34 -97%) average reduction in lymphoproliferation. We were able to rule out a direct cytotoxic effect of B[a]P, indicating that observed effects were due to altered T cell function. Based on our in vitro results, we hypothesize that extensive accumulation of PAH by top-trophic-level marine mammals could alter T cell activation in vivo and impaired cell-mediated immunity against viral pathogens.Keywords: Benzo[a]pyrene; Harbor seal; Immunotoxicity; Lymphoproliferation; PAH; PCB INTRODUCTIONUnderstanding immune alterations related to environmental contamination has become an important priority in marine mammal research because of the high incidence in recent years of mass mortality events, unexplained population declines, and strandings among marine mammal populations (Dietz et al., 1989; Marine Mammal Commission, 1999;Kennedy et al., 2000). These events have been largely attributed to disease outbreaks caused by established or newly identified members of the genus Morbillivirus (Geraci et al., 1982;Osterhaus and Vedder, 1988;Duignan et al., 1995). Common features of these massive die-offs include highly polluted habitat and high tissue concentrations in affected individuals of persistent, lipophilic contaminants, including those known to have deleterious effects on the immune systems of rodents and humans (Hall et al., 1992;Visser et al., 1993;Reijnders, 1994). Whereas contaminant-induced immune suppression has been suggested as a major contributing factor in marine mammal disease epizootics, causal relationships and potential mechanisms of immunotoxicity have not been established (Olsson et al., 1994; Marine Mammal Commission, 1999;van Loveren et al., 2000).The harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) is an ideal model organism for investigating contaminant-induced immune alterations in marine mammals. Fish-eating seals are longlived, maintain large adipose deposits, and occupy high trophic levels in the marine food chain, thus accumulating relatively high levels of lipophilic contaminants (Boon et al., 1987;Young et al., 1998; Neale, unpublished data). Among marine m...

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proliferative Responses of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) T Lymphocytes to Model Marine Pollutants

Neale

Water²,

Harvey

et al. 2002

Journal of Immunology Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hadwenius] seymouri; Wazura et al 1986, Lair et al 2014, and protozoa (Toxoplasma gondii and Sarcocystis sp. ; De Guise et al 1993, Martineau et al 1994, Mikaelian et al 2000.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Morbidity and mortality in stranded Cook Inlet beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas

Burek‐Huntington¹,

Dushane²,

Goertz³

et al. 2015

Dis. Aquat. Org.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The endangered Cook Inlet (Alaska, USA) stock of beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas declined 47% between 1994 and 1998, from an estimated 653 whales to 347 whales, with a continued decline to approximately 312 in 2012. Between 1998 and 2013, 164 known dead strandings were reported by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Only 38 of these animals, or 23% of the known stranded carcasses, were necropsied. Carcasses were found between April and October. The majority of animals necropsied were adults (n = 25), followed by juveniles (n = 6), calves (n = 3), and aborted fetuses (n = 4). Eight of the 11 mature females were pregnant, post-partum, or lactating. Many (82%) of these belugas were in moderate to advanced autolysis, which hampered determination of a cause of death (COD). Each animal had a single primary COD assigned within a broad set of categories. The CODs were unknown (29%), trauma (18%), perinatal mortality (13%), mass stranding (13%), single stranding (11%), malnutrition (8%), or disease (8%). Other disease processes were coded as contributory or incidental to COD. Multiple animals had mild to moderate verminous pneumonia due to Stenurus arctomarinus, renal granulomas due to Crassicauda giliakiana, and ulcerative gastritis due to Anisakis sp. Each stranding affords a unique opportunity to obtain natural history data and evidence of human interactions, and, by long-term monitoring, to characterize pathologies of importance to individual and population health.

show abstract

“…Some of the most conspicuous effects of OCs on wildlife have been reported in white whales. High concentrations of OCs in white whales from the St Lawrence Estuary are believed to be a factor in the unusually high incidences of tumours, cancers, lesions, immune dysfunction, reduced reproductive rates, abnormal sexual development, and high mortality in Ž this population Martineau et al, 1987Martineau et al, , 1994. Beland et al, 1993;De Guise et al, 1995 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentrations and patterns of organochlorine contaminants in white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway

Andersen

Kovacs

Lydersen

et al. 2001

Science of The Total Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ž. Blubber was collected from live-captured, adult male white whales Delphinapterus leucas from Svalbard, Norway, Ž . and analysed for levels and patterns of organochlorine OC contaminants. The OC compounds analysed were HCB, Ž . Ž dieldrin, ⌺HCH ␣-HCH, ␤-HCH and ␥-HCH , ⌺Chl heptachlor epoxide, oxychlordane, cis-chlordane, trans-non-. Ž . Ž . achlor, and cis-nonachlor , ⌺DDT ppЈ-DDT, ppЈ-DDE and ppЈ-DDD and ⌺PCB 27 PCB congeners . The major Ž . Ž . OC compounds detected in the blubber were ⌺PCB 5103 " 1874 ngrg l.w. and ⌺DDT 5108 " 1089 ngrg l.w. , Ž . which made up 70% of the ⌺OC. These compounds were followed in prevalence by ⌺Chl 2872 " 1177 ngrg l.w. , which contributed 20% of the ⌺OC burden. ⌺HCH, HCB and dieldrin were present, but at low concentrations. This OC pattern is typical of top predators in Arctic marine food chains. OC levels in white whales from Svalbard are lower than white whales from the St Lawrence River in Canada and are generally similar to values reported previously for other Arctic white whale stocks. Some geographic patterns in relative prevalence of various OC compounds appear to be quite consistent among various marine mammal species in the Arctic. PCB and DDT concentrations in Svalbard's white whales are below the levels that are thought to have negative effects on reproduction or the immune system. ᮊ

show abstract

Pathology and toxicology of beluga whales from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Quebec, Canada. Past, present and future

Cited by 161 publications

References 60 publications

Proliferative Responses of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) T Lymphocytes to Model Marine Pollutants

Proliferative Responses of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) T Lymphocytes to Model Marine Pollutants

Morbidity and mortality in stranded Cook Inlet beluga whales Delphinapterus leucas

Concentrations and patterns of organochlorine contaminants in white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About