Replication Data for: High Levels of Legacy and Emerging Contaminants in Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) from Norway, 2015 to 2017 ...

• Main Author: Andvik, Clare
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: DataverseNO 2024
• Subjects: Orca; Orcinus orca
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18710/yovaim; https://dataverse.no/citation?persistentId=doi:10.18710/YOVAIM

Little is known of the movement or presence of unregulated, emerging contaminants in top predators. The aim of the present study was to conduct the first screening of legacy and emerging contaminants in multiple tissues of killer whales (Orcinus orca) from Norway and investigate tissue partitioning and maternal transfer. Blubber was collected from 8 killer whales in 2015 to 2017, in addition to muscle from 5 of the individuals, and kidney, liver, heart, and spleen from a neonate. We screened for 4 unregulated brominated flame retardants and found pentabromotoluene (PBT) and hexabromobenzene (HBB) at low levels in the blubber of all individuals (median PBT 0.091 ng/g lipid wt, median HBB 1.4 ng/g lipid wt). Levels of PBT and HBB (wet wt) were twice as high in the blubber than the muscle for each individual, confirming preferential accumulation in lipid-rich tissues. Perfluoroalkyl substances and total mercury levels were lower in the neonate than adults, suggesting less efficient maternal transfer of these ...