Inter-species differences in polychlorinated biphenyls patterns from five sympatric species of odontocetes: Can PCBs be used as tracers of feeding ecology?

• Published in: Ecological Indicators
• Main Authors: Méndez-Fernandez, Paula, Simon-Bouhet, Benoit, Bustamante, Paco, Chouvelon, Tiphaine, Ferreira, Marisa, López, Alfredo, Moffat, Collin, Pierce, Graham, Russell, Marie, Santos, Maria, Spitz, Jérôme, Vingada, José, Webster, Lynda, Read, Fiona, González, Angel, Caurant, Florence
• Other Authors: Coordinadora para o Estudo dos Mamiferos Mariños (CEMMA), CEMMA, LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Biogéochimie des Contaminants Métalliques (LBCM), Biogéochimie et Ecotoxicologie (BE), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), Centre of Molecular and Environmental Biology - CBMA (Braga, Portugal), Universidade do Minho = University of Minho Braga, Marine Scotland, Marine Laboratory, School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, CESAM and Department of Biology, University of Minho Braga, Instituto Espanol de Oceanografia, Instituto Español de Oceanografía, Observatoire pour la Conservation de la Mégafaune Marine (PELAGIS), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: Persistent organic pollutants; Biogeochemical tracers; Multivariate analysis; Cetaceans; Northwest Iberian Peninsula; [SDV.TOX.ECO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Toxicology/Ecotoxicology; Harbour porpoise; Phocoena phocoena
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01403981; https://hal.science/hal-01403981/document; https://hal.science/hal-01403981/file/Mendez%20Fernadez%20et%20al%202017%20ECOL%20IND.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.11.013

International audience Concentrations of thirty two polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in the blubber of five sympatric species of odontocetes stranded or by-caught along the Northwest coast of the Iberian Peninsula: common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus). Multivariate analyses were applied to evaluate the ability of PCB patterns to discriminate these sympatric species and to determine which eco-biological factors influence these patterns, thus evaluating the relevance of PCB concentrations as biogeochemical tracers of feeding ecology. The five species could be separated according to their PCB patterns. Different exposure to these contaminants, a consequence of their different dietary preferences or habitats, together with potentially dissimilar metabolic capacities, likely explain these results; sex, age, habitat and the type of prey eaten were the most important eco-biological parameters of those tested. Although, no single congener has been specifically identified as a tracer of feeding ecology, 4 congeners from the 22 analysed seemed to be the most useful and around 12 congeners appear to be enough to achieve good discrimination of the cetaceans studied. Therefore, this study suggests that PCB patterns can be used as tracers for studying the feeding ecology, sources of contamination or even population structure of cetacean species from the Northwest Iberian Peninsula.