Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada
Abstract The northeastern Pacific (NEP) Ocean spans the coast of British Columbia (Canada) and is impacted by anthropogenic activities including oil pipeline developments, maritime fossil fuel tanker traffic, industrial chemical effluents, agricultural and urban emissions in tandem with stormwater a...
Published in: | Scientific Reports |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w https://doaj.org/article/0f18b0c01f634860bc227ed170443a62 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0f18b0c01f634860bc227ed170443a62 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:0f18b0c01f634860bc227ed170443a62 2024-01-28T10:07:00+01:00 Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada Kiah Lee Stephen Raverty Paul Cottrell Zeinab Zoveidadianpour Brendan Cottrell Dana Price Juan José Alava 2023-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w https://doaj.org/article/0f18b0c01f634860bc227ed170443a62 EN eng Nature Portfolio https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/0f18b0c01f634860bc227ed170443a62 Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2023) Medicine R Science Q article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w 2023-12-31T01:48:57Z Abstract The northeastern Pacific (NEP) Ocean spans the coast of British Columbia (Canada) and is impacted by anthropogenic activities including oil pipeline developments, maritime fossil fuel tanker traffic, industrial chemical effluents, agricultural and urban emissions in tandem with stormwater and wastewater discharges, and forest wildfires. Such events may expose surrounding marine environments to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and impact critical habitats of threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca). We analyzed skeletal muscle and liver samples from stranded Bigg’s killer whales and endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs) for PAH contamination using LRMS. C3-phenanthrenes/anthracenes (mean: 632 ng/g lw), C4-dibenzothiophenes (mean: 334 ng/g lw), and C4-phenanthrenes/anthracenes (mean: 248 ng/g lw) presented the highest concentrations across all tissue samples. Diagnostic ratios indicated petrogenic-sourced contamination for SRKWs and pyrogenic-sourced burdens for Bigg’s killer whales; differences between ecotypes may be attributed to habitat range, prey selection, and metabolism. A mother-fetus skeletal muscle pair provided evidence of PAH maternal transfer; low molecular weight compounds C3-fluorenes, dibenzothiophene, and naphthalene showed efficient and preferential exposure to the fetus. This indicates in-utero exposure of PAH-contamination to the fetus. Our results show that hydrocarbon-related anthropogenic activities are negatively impacting these top predators; preliminary data found here can be used to improve oil spill and other PAH pollution management and regulation efforts, and inform policy to conserve killer whale habitats in the NEP. Article in Journal/Newspaper Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles British Columbia ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) Canada Pacific Scientific Reports 13 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Kiah Lee Stephen Raverty Paul Cottrell Zeinab Zoveidadianpour Brendan Cottrell Dana Price Juan José Alava Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Abstract The northeastern Pacific (NEP) Ocean spans the coast of British Columbia (Canada) and is impacted by anthropogenic activities including oil pipeline developments, maritime fossil fuel tanker traffic, industrial chemical effluents, agricultural and urban emissions in tandem with stormwater and wastewater discharges, and forest wildfires. Such events may expose surrounding marine environments to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and impact critical habitats of threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca). We analyzed skeletal muscle and liver samples from stranded Bigg’s killer whales and endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs) for PAH contamination using LRMS. C3-phenanthrenes/anthracenes (mean: 632 ng/g lw), C4-dibenzothiophenes (mean: 334 ng/g lw), and C4-phenanthrenes/anthracenes (mean: 248 ng/g lw) presented the highest concentrations across all tissue samples. Diagnostic ratios indicated petrogenic-sourced contamination for SRKWs and pyrogenic-sourced burdens for Bigg’s killer whales; differences between ecotypes may be attributed to habitat range, prey selection, and metabolism. A mother-fetus skeletal muscle pair provided evidence of PAH maternal transfer; low molecular weight compounds C3-fluorenes, dibenzothiophene, and naphthalene showed efficient and preferential exposure to the fetus. This indicates in-utero exposure of PAH-contamination to the fetus. Our results show that hydrocarbon-related anthropogenic activities are negatively impacting these top predators; preliminary data found here can be used to improve oil spill and other PAH pollution management and regulation efforts, and inform policy to conserve killer whale habitats in the NEP. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kiah Lee Stephen Raverty Paul Cottrell Zeinab Zoveidadianpour Brendan Cottrell Dana Price Juan José Alava |
author_facet |
Kiah Lee Stephen Raverty Paul Cottrell Zeinab Zoveidadianpour Brendan Cottrell Dana Price Juan José Alava |
author_sort |
Kiah Lee |
title |
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada |
title_short |
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada |
title_full |
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada |
title_fullStr |
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada |
title_full_unstemmed |
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada |
title_sort |
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (pah) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (orcinus orca) of british columbia, canada |
publisher |
Nature Portfolio |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w https://doaj.org/article/0f18b0c01f634860bc227ed170443a62 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-125.003,-125.003,54.000,54.000) |
geographic |
British Columbia Canada Pacific |
geographic_facet |
British Columbia Canada Pacific |
genre |
Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
genre_facet |
Killer Whale Orca Orcinus orca Killer whale |
op_source |
Scientific Reports, Vol 13, Iss 1, Pp 1-14 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322 doi:10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w 2045-2322 https://doaj.org/article/0f18b0c01f634860bc227ed170443a62 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
1 |
_version_ |
1789334319090630656 |