Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic
Lipophilic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) tend to biomagnify in food chains, resulting in higher concentrations in species such as killer whales (Orcinus orca) feeding on marine mammals compared to those consuming fish. Advancements in dietary studies include the use of quantitative fatty acid...
Published in: | Environmental Science & Technology |
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Language: | English |
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2023
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Online Access: | https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/varying-diet-composition-causes-striking-differences-in-legacy-and-emerging-contaminant-concentrations-in-killer-whales-across-the-north-atlantic(7494ba24-78b4-448d-9d93-6f405a8ef91b).html https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 |
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ftuniaarhuspubl:oai:pure.atira.dk:publications/7494ba24-78b4-448d-9d93-6f405a8ef91b 2023-12-10T09:46:04+01:00 Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic Remili, Anaïs Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Samarra, Filipa I. P. Letcher, Robert J. Rikardsen, Audun H. Ferguson, Steven H. Watt, Cortney A. Matthews, Cory J.D. Kiszka, Jeremy Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu McKinney, Melissa A. 2023-10 https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/varying-diet-composition-causes-striking-differences-in-legacy-and-emerging-contaminant-concentrations-in-killer-whales-across-the-north-atlantic(7494ba24-78b4-448d-9d93-6f405a8ef91b).html https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 eng eng https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/varying-diet-composition-causes-striking-differences-in-legacy-and-emerging-contaminant-concentrations-in-killer-whales-across-the-north-atlantic(7494ba24-78b4-448d-9d93-6f405a8ef91b).html info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Remili , A , Dietz , R , Sonne , C , Samarra , F I P , Letcher , R J , Rikardsen , A H , Ferguson , S H , Watt , C A , Matthews , C J D , Kiszka , J , Rosing-Asvid , A & McKinney , M A 2023 , ' Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic ' , Environmental Science & Technology (Washington) , vol. 57 , no. 42 , pp. 16109–16120 . https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 Animals Canada Caniformia Diet Environmental Monitoring Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis Whale Killer article 2023 ftuniaarhuspubl https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 2023-11-16T00:01:41Z Lipophilic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) tend to biomagnify in food chains, resulting in higher concentrations in species such as killer whales (Orcinus orca) feeding on marine mammals compared to those consuming fish. Advancements in dietary studies include the use of quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) and differentiation of feeding habits within and between populations of North Atlantic (NA) killer whales. This comprehensive study assessed the concentrations of legacy and emerging POPs in 162 killer whales from across the NA. We report significantly higher mean levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and flame retardants in Western NA killer whales compared to those of Eastern NA conspecifics. Mean ∑PCBs ranged from ∼100 mg/kg lipid weight (lw) in the Western NA (Canadian Arctic, Eastern Canada) to ∼50 mg/kg lw in the mid-NA (Greenland, Iceland) to ∼10 mg/kg lw in the Eastern NA (Norway, Faroe Islands). The observed variations in contaminant levels were strongly correlated with diet composition across locations (inferred from QFASA), emphasizing that diet and not environmental variation in contaminant concentrations among locations is crucial in assessing contaminant-associated health risks in killer whales. These findings highlight the urgency for implementing enhanced measures to safely dispose of POP-contaminated waste, prevent further environmental contamination, and mitigate the release of newer and potentially harmful contaminants. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Faroe Islands Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca Aarhus University: Research Arctic Canada Faroe Islands Greenland Norway Environmental Science & Technology 57 42 16109 16120 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Aarhus University: Research |
op_collection_id |
ftuniaarhuspubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animals Canada Caniformia Diet Environmental Monitoring Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis Whale Killer |
spellingShingle |
Animals Canada Caniformia Diet Environmental Monitoring Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis Whale Killer Remili, Anaïs Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Samarra, Filipa I. P. Letcher, Robert J. Rikardsen, Audun H. Ferguson, Steven H. Watt, Cortney A. Matthews, Cory J.D. Kiszka, Jeremy Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu McKinney, Melissa A. Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic |
topic_facet |
Animals Canada Caniformia Diet Environmental Monitoring Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis Whale Killer |
description |
Lipophilic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) tend to biomagnify in food chains, resulting in higher concentrations in species such as killer whales (Orcinus orca) feeding on marine mammals compared to those consuming fish. Advancements in dietary studies include the use of quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) and differentiation of feeding habits within and between populations of North Atlantic (NA) killer whales. This comprehensive study assessed the concentrations of legacy and emerging POPs in 162 killer whales from across the NA. We report significantly higher mean levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and flame retardants in Western NA killer whales compared to those of Eastern NA conspecifics. Mean ∑PCBs ranged from ∼100 mg/kg lipid weight (lw) in the Western NA (Canadian Arctic, Eastern Canada) to ∼50 mg/kg lw in the mid-NA (Greenland, Iceland) to ∼10 mg/kg lw in the Eastern NA (Norway, Faroe Islands). The observed variations in contaminant levels were strongly correlated with diet composition across locations (inferred from QFASA), emphasizing that diet and not environmental variation in contaminant concentrations among locations is crucial in assessing contaminant-associated health risks in killer whales. These findings highlight the urgency for implementing enhanced measures to safely dispose of POP-contaminated waste, prevent further environmental contamination, and mitigate the release of newer and potentially harmful contaminants. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Remili, Anaïs Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Samarra, Filipa I. P. Letcher, Robert J. Rikardsen, Audun H. Ferguson, Steven H. Watt, Cortney A. Matthews, Cory J.D. Kiszka, Jeremy Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu McKinney, Melissa A. |
author_facet |
Remili, Anaïs Dietz, Rune Sonne, Christian Samarra, Filipa I. P. Letcher, Robert J. Rikardsen, Audun H. Ferguson, Steven H. Watt, Cortney A. Matthews, Cory J.D. Kiszka, Jeremy Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu McKinney, Melissa A. |
author_sort |
Remili, Anaïs |
title |
Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic |
title_short |
Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic |
title_full |
Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic |
title_sort |
varying diet composition causes striking differences in legacy and emerging contaminant concentrations in killer whales across the north atlantic |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/varying-diet-composition-causes-striking-differences-in-legacy-and-emerging-contaminant-concentrations-in-killer-whales-across-the-north-atlantic(7494ba24-78b4-448d-9d93-6f405a8ef91b).html https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 |
geographic |
Arctic Canada Faroe Islands Greenland Norway |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Canada Faroe Islands Greenland Norway |
genre |
Arctic Faroe Islands Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca |
genre_facet |
Arctic Faroe Islands Greenland Iceland North Atlantic Orca Orcinus orca |
op_source |
Remili , A , Dietz , R , Sonne , C , Samarra , F I P , Letcher , R J , Rikardsen , A H , Ferguson , S H , Watt , C A , Matthews , C J D , Kiszka , J , Rosing-Asvid , A & McKinney , M A 2023 , ' Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic ' , Environmental Science & Technology (Washington) , vol. 57 , no. 42 , pp. 16109–16120 . https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 |
op_relation |
https://pure.au.dk/portal/da/publications/varying-diet-composition-causes-striking-differences-in-legacy-and-emerging-contaminant-concentrations-in-killer-whales-across-the-north-atlantic(7494ba24-78b4-448d-9d93-6f405a8ef91b).html |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 |
container_title |
Environmental Science & Technology |
container_volume |
57 |
container_issue |
42 |
container_start_page |
16109 |
op_container_end_page |
16120 |
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1784889394429165568 |