Franciscana dolphins as PCBs marine biomonitors in Argentina, Southwest Atlantic Ocean

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Authors: Arias, Andres Hugo, Panebianco, María Victoria, Net, Sopheak, Dumoulin, David, Souissi, Sami, Ouddane, Baghdad, Cappozzo, Humberto Luis, Marcovecchio, Jorge Eduardo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press
• Subjects: Franciscanas; Dolphins; Southwestern Atlantic; Argentina; PCBs; Biomonitors; Oceanografía; Hidrología; Recursos Hídricos; Ciencias de la Tierra y relacionadas con el Medio Ambiente; CIENCIAS NATURALES Y EXACTAS; Argentino; Dumoulin; sami
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/26321

Including a multi-year collection of samples (2004 –2011) the present research fills 20 years of an information gap regarding the PCB burden in south-west Atlantic franciscana dolphins (Pontoporia blainvillei) while aiming to test the null hypothesis that PCBs congeners are increasingly bioaccumulating in south-west Atlantic specimens in relation to northern hemisphere records. In addition, the present survey analyses indicators of potential biological impairment associated to PCBs tissue burden. The results could associate each sampling area group of dolphins to one or two Aroclorw patterns and point to dominant regional diffuse sources entering PCBs mixtures to the marine environment with a possible regional/long-range atmospheric contribution. In addition, total PCB levels were from four to seven times lower than the closer precedents for the area (18–26 years ago) indicating a progress in the environmental release and biota exposure of PCBs and posing an objective indicator of success of the present international elimination programme. Further, when compared with regional and global bioaccumulation patterns, PCBs congeners in Argentinean specimens appeared to occur in a decreasing tendency. Finally, calculated TEQs TCDD levels raised a concern in regards to environmental safety, showing guideline values to be widely exceeded and the occasional occurrence of positive correlations between PCBs bioaccumulation vs. sexual immaturity. Fil: Arias, Andres Hugo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; Argentina Fil: Panebianco, María Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina Fil: Net, Sopheak. University of Sciences and Technology of Lille; Francia Fil: Dumoulin, David. University of Sciences and Technology of Lille; Francia Fil: Souissi, Sami. Station Marine; Francia Fil: Ouddane, Baghdad. University of Sciences and Technology of Lille; Francia Fil: Cappozzo, Humberto Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; Argentina. Universidad Maimónides; Argentina Fil: Marcovecchio, Jorge Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía; Argentina. Universidad FASTA "Santo Tomas de Aquino"; Argentina