Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens
We evaluated organochlorine contaminant concentrations and burdens in blubber samples from 50 harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) obtained from the estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait, Canada, between December 1988 and December 1989. The concentration and burden of PCBs increased...
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Canadian Science Publishing
1994
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z94-022 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z94-022 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/z94-022 2023-12-17T10:28:03+01:00 Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens Beck, Gregor Gilpin Smith, Thomas G. Addison, Richard F. 1994 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z94-022 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z94-022 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 72, issue 1, page 174-182 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 1994 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/z94-022 2023-11-19T13:39:31Z We evaluated organochlorine contaminant concentrations and burdens in blubber samples from 50 harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) obtained from the estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait, Canada, between December 1988 and December 1989. The concentration and burden of PCBs increased significantly during the winter months for males occupying the St. Lawrence estuary. The potential for rapid accumulation of contaminants in the estuary was also observed among females: nine postpartum females (1 month after weaning) had higher organochlorine levels than prepartum females from the same location. The lowest observed contaminant concentrations and burdens were in seals from Hudson Strait in autumn. In winter specimens, males had DDT and PCB concentrations about 4 and 2 times as great, respectively, as females of similar age distribution and collection date. Congeners with IUPAC Nos. 138 and 153 accounted for more than 50% of total identifiable PCBs, which is consistent with their prevalence in other marine biota. The concentration of PCBs has declined and the percent p,p′-DDE of total DDT has increased between 1982 and the present study. Unlike the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), harp seals occupy the more polluted waters of the estuary only seasonally, and this may account for their lower residue concentrations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Hudson Strait Phoca groenlandica Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canada Hudson Hudson Strait ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) Canadian Journal of Zoology 72 1 174 182 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Beck, Gregor Gilpin Smith, Thomas G. Addison, Richard F. Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
We evaluated organochlorine contaminant concentrations and burdens in blubber samples from 50 harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) obtained from the estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait, Canada, between December 1988 and December 1989. The concentration and burden of PCBs increased significantly during the winter months for males occupying the St. Lawrence estuary. The potential for rapid accumulation of contaminants in the estuary was also observed among females: nine postpartum females (1 month after weaning) had higher organochlorine levels than prepartum females from the same location. The lowest observed contaminant concentrations and burdens were in seals from Hudson Strait in autumn. In winter specimens, males had DDT and PCB concentrations about 4 and 2 times as great, respectively, as females of similar age distribution and collection date. Congeners with IUPAC Nos. 138 and 153 accounted for more than 50% of total identifiable PCBs, which is consistent with their prevalence in other marine biota. The concentration of PCBs has declined and the percent p,p′-DDE of total DDT has increased between 1982 and the present study. Unlike the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), harp seals occupy the more polluted waters of the estuary only seasonally, and this may account for their lower residue concentrations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Beck, Gregor Gilpin Smith, Thomas G. Addison, Richard F. |
author_facet |
Beck, Gregor Gilpin Smith, Thomas G. Addison, Richard F. |
author_sort |
Beck, Gregor Gilpin |
title |
Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens |
title_short |
Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens |
title_full |
Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens |
title_fullStr |
Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens |
title_full_unstemmed |
Organochlorine residues in harp seals, Phoca groenlandica , from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Hudson Strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens |
title_sort |
organochlorine residues in harp seals, phoca groenlandica , from the gulf of st. lawrence and hudson strait: an evaluation of contaminant concentrations and burdens |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z94-022 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z94-022 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-70.000,-70.000,62.000,62.000) |
geographic |
Canada Hudson Hudson Strait |
geographic_facet |
Canada Hudson Hudson Strait |
genre |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Hudson Strait Phoca groenlandica |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Hudson Strait Phoca groenlandica |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 72, issue 1, page 174-182 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/z94-022 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
72 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
174 |
op_container_end_page |
182 |
_version_ |
1785580066164441088 |