An assessment of contaminant concentrations in toothed whale species of the NW Iberian Peninsula: Part I. Persistent organic pollutants

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: Méndez-Fernandez, Paula, Webster, Lynda, Chouvelon, Tiphaine, Bustamante, Paco, Ferreira, Marisa, González, Angel, López, Alfredo, Moffat, Colin, Pierce, Graham, Read, Fiona, Russell, Marie, Santos, Maria Begoña, Spitz, Jérôme, Vingada, José, Caurant, Florence
• Other Authors: LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Marine Scotland Science, Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology - CBMA (Braga, Portugal), Universidade do Minho = University of Minho Braga, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas Madrid (CSIC), CEMMA, Coordinadora para o Estudio dos Mamiferos Marinos, Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen, CESAM and Departamento de Biologia da Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia (IEO), IEO, Marine Mammal Research Unit, University of British Columbia (UBC), CESAM and Department of Biology, University of Minho Braga
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: PCBs; PBDEs; bioaccumulation; patterns; toothed whales; Northwest Iberian Peninsula; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; Pacific; Harbour porpoise; toothed whale
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01079865; https://hal.science/hal-01079865/document; https://hal.science/hal-01079865/file/Mendez-Fernandez%20et%20al%202014%20STOTEN%20Part%20I.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.02.045

International audience Concentrations and patterns of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in the blubber of the five most common toothed whales off the Northwest Iberian Peninsula (NWIP), specifically common dolphin, long-finned pilot whale, harbour porpoise, striped dolphin and bottlenose dolphin, were investigated. The study revealed that differences in PCB and PBDE concentrations among the species are highly dependent on age and sex but also on ecological factors such as trophic level, prey type or habitat. Of the five species studied, bottlenose dolphin and harbour porpoise showed the greatest concentrations of PCBs. Both species exceed the toxic threshold of 17 µg g-1lipid weight (PCBs Aroclor equivalent) for health effects on marine mammals, for100% and 75% of the individuals tested, respectively. Overall, the PCB and PBDE levels observed in the NWIP toothed whales were of the same order of magnitude or lower than those reported by previous studies in areas of the NE Atlantic. However, they are often higher than those for toothed whales from the southern Atlantic and Pacific Ocean.