Persistent organochlorines in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St Lawrence River estuary-I. Concentrations and patterns of specific PCBs, chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans

Muir, Derek C.G.; Ford, C.A.; Rosenberg, Bruno; Norstrom, Ross J.; Simon, M.; Béland, Pierre

doi:10.1016/0269-7491(96)00006-1

Cited by 137 publications

(100 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This is contrary to levels of PCBs and DDTs that are an order of magnitude higher in the St Lawrence animals compared with white whales from Svalbard and the Canadian Arctic (Muir et al, 1990(Muir et al, , 1996aAndersen et al, 2001). Gouteux et al (2003) suggested that atmospheric transport of CHBs might be the most important input to both the Canadian Arctic and the St Lawrence Estuary based on the similar levels of CHBs in these two distinct environments.…”

Section: Spatial Trends Of Chb Levelsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Levels of toxaphene congeners in white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway

Andersen

Føreid

Skaare

et al. 2006

Science of The Total Environment

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This study reports concentrations of three pesticide toxaphene congeners (CHBs; from the blubber of ten adult, male white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway. The CHB congeners that occurred at the highest levels in the blubber of the white whales were, as expected, CHB-26 (4636 F 1992 (SD) ng/g l.w.) and CHB-50 (6579 F 2214 ng/g l.w.); CHB-62 (232 F 231 ng/g l.w.) was also present, but at much lower concentrations. The mean level of the sum of the three CHBs (ACHBs = 11,447 F 4208 ng/g l.w.) in this study is more than twice the mean concentrations of the well-known organochlorine (OC) pollutants ADDTs (sum of ppV-DDT, ppV-DDE, ppV-DDD) and APCBs (sum of 27 PCB congeners) previously reported from the same individual white whales. The concentrations of CHBs in white whales from Svalbard are at the high end of the range for concentrations of these compounds compared to other Arctic white whale populations. Additionally, the contribution of CHBs to the overall OC burden is larger in white whales from Svalbard compared with their counterparts from other areas in the Arctic. Male white whales from Svalbard have several orders of magnitude higher concentrations of ACHBs compared to seals and polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from the same area. The high levels of CHBs in these whales, and their dominance in the OC pattern, suggests that white whales in Svalbard are exposed to high levels of this group of contaminants. Further studies are needed to investigate possible effects of CHBs and other OC contaminants on the white whale population in Svalbard. D 2005 Published by Elsevier B.V.

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Section: Spatial Trends Of Chb Levelsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Levels of toxaphene congeners in white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway

Andersen

Føreid

Skaare

et al. 2006

Science of The Total Environment

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“…For example, two chemical signals-fatty acid signature analysis of blubber (Iverson et al, 2004) and stable isotope enrichments of 13 C and 15 N in the epidermis (Kelly, 2000)-have been used to assess the diet and trophic position of marine mammals. In addition, patterns of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been shown to differentiate cetacean stocks (Krahn et al, 1999;Muir et al, 1996), presumably due to differences in POPs in their prey. All three techniques were combined by Herman et al (2005) to qualitatively examine the dietary specializations of eastern North Pacific killer whale populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of chemical tracers in assessing the diet and foraging regions of eastern North Pacific killer whales

Krahn

Herman

Matkin³

et al. 2007

Marine Environmental Research

118

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Top predators in the marine environment integrate chemical signals acquired from their prey that reflect both the species consumed and the regions from which the prey were taken. These chemical tracers-stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen; persistent organic pollutant (POP) concentrations, patterns and ratios; and fatty acid profiles-were measured in blubber biopsy samples from North Pacific killer whales (Orcinus orca) (n = 84) and were used to provide further insight into their diet, particularly for the offshore group, about which little dietary information is available. The offshore killer whales were shown to consume prey species that were distinctly different from those of sympatric resident and transient killer whales. In addition, it was confirmed that the offshores forage as far south as California. Thus, these results provide evidence that the offshores belong to a third killer whale ecotype. Resident killer whale populations showed a gradient in stable isotope profiles from west (central Aleutians) to east (Gulf of Alaska) that, in part, can be attributed to a shift from off-shelf to continental shelf-based prey. Finally, stable isotope ratio results, supported by field

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“…Because these carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios reflect food consumed and assimilated, shifts in stable isotope ratios can be used to provide general information about the diet of a predator. Although used less frequently for dietary reconstructions, patterns of organochlorine (OC) contaminants have also been used to differentiate various marine mammal stocks, presumably as a result of differences in the OC composition of their respective prey (Muir et al 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeding ecology of eastern North Pacific killer whales Orcinus orca from fatty acid, stable isotope, and organochlorine analyses of blubber biopsies

Herman¹,

Burrows²,

Wade³

et al. 2005

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

180

200

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Blubber biopsy samples from eastern North Pacific killer whales Orcinus orca were analyzed for fatty acids, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes and organochlorine contaminants. Fatty acid profiles were sufficiently distinct among the 3 reported ecotypes ('resident,' 'transient' or 'offshore') to enable individual animals to be correctly classified by ecotype and also by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype. Profiles of PCBs also enabled unambiguous classification of all 3 killer whale ecotypes, but stable isotope values lacked sufficient resolution. Fatty acid, stable isotope and PCB profiles of the resident and transient ecotypes were consistent with those expected for these whales based on their reported dietary preferences (fish for resident whales, marine mammals for transients). In addition, these ecotype profiles exhibited broad similarity across geographical regions, suggesting that the dietary specialization reported for resident and transient whales in the well-studied eastern North Pacific populations also extends to the less-studied killer whales in the western Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands. Killer whales of the same ecotype were also grouped by region of sample collection. The mean stable isotope ratios of various regional groups differed considerably, suggesting that the prey preferences of these North Pacific killer whales may be both region and ecotype specific. Furthermore, 3 specific ecotypes of killer whales were found to have measured stable isotope values that were consistent with dietary preferences reported in the literature. Finally, although the offshore population had blubber fatty acid profiles implicating fish as its primary prey, contaminant and stable isotope results were equally congruent with predation on marine mammals.

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Persistent organochlorines in beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from the St Lawrence River estuary-I. Concentrations and patterns of specific PCBs, chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans

Cited by 137 publications

References 39 publications

Levels of toxaphene congeners in white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway

Levels of toxaphene congeners in white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) from Svalbard, Norway

Use of chemical tracers in assessing the diet and foraging regions of eastern North Pacific killer whales

Feeding ecology of eastern North Pacific killer whales Orcinus orca from fatty acid, stable isotope, and organochlorine analyses of blubber biopsies

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