Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales
Blubber lipid concentrations of 14 organochlorine compounds and 10 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were measured by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae from Cape Verde (n = 20) and Ireland (n = 4). Concentrations were st...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:f096c946370a46edad353d9aa386cbd3 2023-05-15T17:10:51+02:00 Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales C Ryan B McHugh B Boyle E McGovern M Bérubé P Lopez-Suárez CT Elfes DT Boyd GM Ylitalo GR Van Blaricom PJ Clapham J Robbins PJ Palsbøll I O’Connor SD Berrow 2013-12-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00545 https://doaj.org/article/f096c946370a46edad353d9aa386cbd3 EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v22/n3/p213-223/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00545 https://doaj.org/article/f096c946370a46edad353d9aa386cbd3 Endangered Species Research, Vol 22, Iss 3, Pp 213-223 (2013) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00545 2022-12-31T07:52:12Z Blubber lipid concentrations of 14 organochlorine compounds and 10 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were measured by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae from Cape Verde (n = 20) and Ireland (n = 4). Concentrations were statistically compared to those from 20 samples collected from the Gulf of Maine in the western North Atlantic. Pollutant burdens were compared using males only, in order to circumvent biases associated with reproductive offloading. Lipid-normalised PCB concentrations were below the estimated threshold toxicity value of 17000 ng g-1 for blubber in marine mammals. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), PCB and chlordane concentrations were an order of magnitude lower than those previously reported for Gulf of Maine humpback whales and higher than those reported from the North Pacific Ocean. Higher concentrations of lower-chlorinated PCB congeners (28, 31 and 52), hexachlorocyclohexanes and hexachlorobenzene in males in eastern North Atlantic sites is consistent with higher latitude feeding grounds. Lower p,p’-DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane):ΣDDT ratios suggest that whales from the eastern North Atlantic harbour more recent inputs of DDT. The ΣDDTs:ΣPCBs ratio was higher for males from Cape Verde (1.69) and Ireland (1.44), indicating proportionately greater sources of agricultural rather than industrial sources of pollutants than for the Gulf of Maine whales (0.75). We demonstrate potential for persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) as tracers to determine foraging ground provenance for samples collected on breeding grounds in the North Atlantic. Low concentrations suggest that POPs are unlikely to be a factor in the poor recovery rate of humpback whales in Cape Verde. Article in Journal/Newspaper Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Pacific Endangered Species Research 22 3 213 223 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
spellingShingle |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 C Ryan B McHugh B Boyle E McGovern M Bérubé P Lopez-Suárez CT Elfes DT Boyd GM Ylitalo GR Van Blaricom PJ Clapham J Robbins PJ Palsbøll I O’Connor SD Berrow Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
Blubber lipid concentrations of 14 organochlorine compounds and 10 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) were measured by gas chromatography with electron-capture detection in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae from Cape Verde (n = 20) and Ireland (n = 4). Concentrations were statistically compared to those from 20 samples collected from the Gulf of Maine in the western North Atlantic. Pollutant burdens were compared using males only, in order to circumvent biases associated with reproductive offloading. Lipid-normalised PCB concentrations were below the estimated threshold toxicity value of 17000 ng g-1 for blubber in marine mammals. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), PCB and chlordane concentrations were an order of magnitude lower than those previously reported for Gulf of Maine humpback whales and higher than those reported from the North Pacific Ocean. Higher concentrations of lower-chlorinated PCB congeners (28, 31 and 52), hexachlorocyclohexanes and hexachlorobenzene in males in eastern North Atlantic sites is consistent with higher latitude feeding grounds. Lower p,p’-DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane):ΣDDT ratios suggest that whales from the eastern North Atlantic harbour more recent inputs of DDT. The ΣDDTs:ΣPCBs ratio was higher for males from Cape Verde (1.69) and Ireland (1.44), indicating proportionately greater sources of agricultural rather than industrial sources of pollutants than for the Gulf of Maine whales (0.75). We demonstrate potential for persistent organochlorine pollutants (POPs) as tracers to determine foraging ground provenance for samples collected on breeding grounds in the North Atlantic. Low concentrations suggest that POPs are unlikely to be a factor in the poor recovery rate of humpback whales in Cape Verde. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
C Ryan B McHugh B Boyle E McGovern M Bérubé P Lopez-Suárez CT Elfes DT Boyd GM Ylitalo GR Van Blaricom PJ Clapham J Robbins PJ Palsbøll I O’Connor SD Berrow |
author_facet |
C Ryan B McHugh B Boyle E McGovern M Bérubé P Lopez-Suárez CT Elfes DT Boyd GM Ylitalo GR Van Blaricom PJ Clapham J Robbins PJ Palsbøll I O’Connor SD Berrow |
author_sort |
C Ryan |
title |
Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales |
title_short |
Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales |
title_full |
Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales |
title_fullStr |
Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales |
title_full_unstemmed |
Levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern North Atlantic humpback whales |
title_sort |
levels of persistent organic pollutants in eastern north atlantic humpback whales |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00545 https://doaj.org/article/f096c946370a46edad353d9aa386cbd3 |
geographic |
Pacific |
geographic_facet |
Pacific |
genre |
Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
Megaptera novaeangliae North Atlantic |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 22, Iss 3, Pp 213-223 (2013) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v22/n3/p213-223/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00545 https://doaj.org/article/f096c946370a46edad353d9aa386cbd3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00545 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
22 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
213 |
op_container_end_page |
223 |
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1766067519124144128 |