Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus)
Legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are chemicals that undergo long-range transport to the Arctic. These chemicals possess endocrine disruptive properties raising concerns for development and reproduction. Here, we report the relationship between conc...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b7a05b506f3341529f53481ae00e8404 2023-05-15T15:00:49+02:00 Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) Tomasz M. Ciesielski Christian Sonne Eli I. Smette Gro Dehli Villanger Bjarne Styrishave Robert J. Letcher Daniel J. Hitchcock Rune Dietz Bjørn M. Jenssen 2023-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13263 https://doaj.org/article/b7a05b506f3341529f53481ae00e8404 EN eng Elsevier http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402300470X https://doaj.org/toc/2405-8440 2405-8440 doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13263 https://doaj.org/article/b7a05b506f3341529f53481ae00e8404 Heliyon, Vol 9, Iss 3, Pp e13263- (2023) Arctic Endocrine disruption POPs Reproductive organs PCBs Seasonal hormone levels Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13263 2023-04-09T00:33:14Z Legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are chemicals that undergo long-range transport to the Arctic. These chemicals possess endocrine disruptive properties raising concerns for development and reproduction. Here, we report the relationship between concentrations of testosterone (T) and persistent organic pollutant (POPs) in 40 East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) sampled during January to September 1999–2001. The mean ± standard concentrations of blood T were 0.31 ± 0.49 (mean ± SD) ng/mL in juveniles/subadults (n = 22) and 3.58 ± 7.45 ng/mL in adults (n = 18). The ∑POP concentrations (mean ± SD) in adipose tissue were 8139 ± 2990 ng/g lipid weight (lw) in juveniles/subadults and 11,037 ± 3950 ng/g lw in adult males, respectively, of which Σpolychlorinated biphenyls (ΣPCBs) were found in highest concentrations. The variation in T concentrations explained by sampling date (season), biometrics and adipose tissue POP concentrations was explored using redundancy analysis (RDA). The results showed that age, body length, and adipose lipid content in adult males contributed (p = 0.02) to the variation in POP concentrations. However, although some significant relationships between individual organochlorine contaminants and T concentrations in both juveniles/subadults and adult polar bears were identified, no significant relationships (p = 0.32) between T and POP concentrations were identified by the RDAs. Our results suggest that confounders such as biometrics and reproductive status may mask the endocrine disruptive effects that POPs have on blood T levels in male polar bears, demonstrating why it can be difficult to detect effects on wildlife populations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic East Greenland Greenland Ursus maritimus Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Greenland Heliyon 9 3 e13263 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Arctic Endocrine disruption POPs Reproductive organs PCBs Seasonal hormone levels Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 |
spellingShingle |
Arctic Endocrine disruption POPs Reproductive organs PCBs Seasonal hormone levels Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 Tomasz M. Ciesielski Christian Sonne Eli I. Smette Gro Dehli Villanger Bjarne Styrishave Robert J. Letcher Daniel J. Hitchcock Rune Dietz Bjørn M. Jenssen Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
topic_facet |
Arctic Endocrine disruption POPs Reproductive organs PCBs Seasonal hormone levels Science (General) Q1-390 Social sciences (General) H1-99 |
description |
Legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are chemicals that undergo long-range transport to the Arctic. These chemicals possess endocrine disruptive properties raising concerns for development and reproduction. Here, we report the relationship between concentrations of testosterone (T) and persistent organic pollutant (POPs) in 40 East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) sampled during January to September 1999–2001. The mean ± standard concentrations of blood T were 0.31 ± 0.49 (mean ± SD) ng/mL in juveniles/subadults (n = 22) and 3.58 ± 7.45 ng/mL in adults (n = 18). The ∑POP concentrations (mean ± SD) in adipose tissue were 8139 ± 2990 ng/g lipid weight (lw) in juveniles/subadults and 11,037 ± 3950 ng/g lw in adult males, respectively, of which Σpolychlorinated biphenyls (ΣPCBs) were found in highest concentrations. The variation in T concentrations explained by sampling date (season), biometrics and adipose tissue POP concentrations was explored using redundancy analysis (RDA). The results showed that age, body length, and adipose lipid content in adult males contributed (p = 0.02) to the variation in POP concentrations. However, although some significant relationships between individual organochlorine contaminants and T concentrations in both juveniles/subadults and adult polar bears were identified, no significant relationships (p = 0.32) between T and POP concentrations were identified by the RDAs. Our results suggest that confounders such as biometrics and reproductive status may mask the endocrine disruptive effects that POPs have on blood T levels in male polar bears, demonstrating why it can be difficult to detect effects on wildlife populations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Tomasz M. Ciesielski Christian Sonne Eli I. Smette Gro Dehli Villanger Bjarne Styrishave Robert J. Letcher Daniel J. Hitchcock Rune Dietz Bjørn M. Jenssen |
author_facet |
Tomasz M. Ciesielski Christian Sonne Eli I. Smette Gro Dehli Villanger Bjarne Styrishave Robert J. Letcher Daniel J. Hitchcock Rune Dietz Bjørn M. Jenssen |
author_sort |
Tomasz M. Ciesielski |
title |
Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_short |
Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_full |
Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_fullStr |
Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_full_unstemmed |
Testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in East Greenland male polar bears (Ursus maritimus) |
title_sort |
testosterone and persistent organic pollutants in east greenland male polar bears (ursus maritimus) |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13263 https://doaj.org/article/b7a05b506f3341529f53481ae00e8404 |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland |
genre |
Arctic East Greenland Greenland Ursus maritimus |
genre_facet |
Arctic East Greenland Greenland Ursus maritimus |
op_source |
Heliyon, Vol 9, Iss 3, Pp e13263- (2023) |
op_relation |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402300470X https://doaj.org/toc/2405-8440 2405-8440 doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13263 https://doaj.org/article/b7a05b506f3341529f53481ae00e8404 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e13263 |
container_title |
Heliyon |
container_volume |
9 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
e13263 |
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1766332880221372416 |