Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic
Abstract Seasonal feeding behavior and high fidelity to feeding areas allow humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) to be used as biological indicators of regional contamination. Biopsy blubber samples from male individuals ( n = 67) were collected through SPLASH, a multinational research project...
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crwiley:10.1002/etc.110 2024-09-15T18:11:14+00:00 Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Elfes, Cristiane T. VanBlaricom, Glenn R. Boyd, Daryle Calambokidis, John Clapham, Phillip J. Pearce, Ronald W. Robbins, Jooke Salinas, Juan Carlos Straley, Janice M. Wade, Paul R. Krahn, Margaret M. 2010 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.110 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fetc.110 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/etc.110 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry volume 29, issue 4, page 824-834 ISSN 0730-7268 1552-8618 journal-article 2010 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.110 2024-08-06T04:18:15Z Abstract Seasonal feeding behavior and high fidelity to feeding areas allow humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) to be used as biological indicators of regional contamination. Biopsy blubber samples from male individuals ( n = 67) were collected through SPLASH, a multinational research project, in eight North Pacific feeding grounds. Additional male samples ( n = 20) were collected from one North Atlantic feeding ground. Persistent organic pollutants were measured in the samples and used to assess contaminant distribution in the study areas. North Atlantic (Gulf of Maine) whales were more contaminated than North Pacific whales, showing the highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and chlordanes. The highest dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) levels were detected in whales feeding off southern California, USA. High‐latitude regions were characterized by elevated levels of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) but generally nondetectable concentrations of PBDEs. Age was shown to have a positive relationship with ΣPCBs, ΣDDTs, Σchlordanes, and total percent lipid. Contaminant levels in humpback whales were comparable to other mysticetes and lower than those found in odontocete cetaceans and pinnipeds. Although these concentrations likely do not represent a significant conservation threat, levels in the Gulf of Maine and southern California may warrant further study. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:824–834. © 2009 SETAC Article in Journal/Newspaper Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic Wiley Online Library Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 29 4 824 834 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Seasonal feeding behavior and high fidelity to feeding areas allow humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) to be used as biological indicators of regional contamination. Biopsy blubber samples from male individuals ( n = 67) were collected through SPLASH, a multinational research project, in eight North Pacific feeding grounds. Additional male samples ( n = 20) were collected from one North Atlantic feeding ground. Persistent organic pollutants were measured in the samples and used to assess contaminant distribution in the study areas. North Atlantic (Gulf of Maine) whales were more contaminated than North Pacific whales, showing the highest levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and chlordanes. The highest dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) levels were detected in whales feeding off southern California, USA. High‐latitude regions were characterized by elevated levels of hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) but generally nondetectable concentrations of PBDEs. Age was shown to have a positive relationship with ΣPCBs, ΣDDTs, Σchlordanes, and total percent lipid. Contaminant levels in humpback whales were comparable to other mysticetes and lower than those found in odontocete cetaceans and pinnipeds. Although these concentrations likely do not represent a significant conservation threat, levels in the Gulf of Maine and southern California may warrant further study. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:824–834. © 2009 SETAC |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Elfes, Cristiane T. VanBlaricom, Glenn R. Boyd, Daryle Calambokidis, John Clapham, Phillip J. Pearce, Ronald W. Robbins, Jooke Salinas, Juan Carlos Straley, Janice M. Wade, Paul R. Krahn, Margaret M. |
spellingShingle |
Elfes, Cristiane T. VanBlaricom, Glenn R. Boyd, Daryle Calambokidis, John Clapham, Phillip J. Pearce, Ronald W. Robbins, Jooke Salinas, Juan Carlos Straley, Janice M. Wade, Paul R. Krahn, Margaret M. Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic |
author_facet |
Elfes, Cristiane T. VanBlaricom, Glenn R. Boyd, Daryle Calambokidis, John Clapham, Phillip J. Pearce, Ronald W. Robbins, Jooke Salinas, Juan Carlos Straley, Janice M. Wade, Paul R. Krahn, Margaret M. |
author_sort |
Elfes, Cristiane T. |
title |
Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic |
title_short |
Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic |
title_full |
Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic |
title_sort |
geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale ( megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the north pacific and north atlantic |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.110 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fetc.110 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/etc.110 |
genre |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Humpback Whale Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
op_source |
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry volume 29, issue 4, page 824-834 ISSN 0730-7268 1552-8618 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.110 |
container_title |
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
824 |
op_container_end_page |
834 |
_version_ |
1810448819882557440 |