Journal
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
Volume 449, Issue -, Pages 285-294Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.01.072
Keywords
Beluga; Alaska; Persistent organic pollutants; Mercury; Temporal trends; Spatial trends
Categories
Funding
- Minerals Management Service, U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resources Division (USGS BRD)
- National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources
- National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- NMFS Alaska Region
- USGS BRD Alaska Science Center
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Remote locations, such as the Arctic, are often sinks for persistent contaminants which can ultimately bioaccumulate in local wildlife. Assessing temporal contaminant trends in the Arctic is important in understanding whether restrictions on legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) have led to concentration declines. Beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) tissue samples were collected from two subpopulations (Cook Inlet, Alaska and the eastern Chukchi Sea) between 1989 and 2006. Several POPs (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane and related compounds (DDTs), chlordanes, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), chlorobenzenes, mirex, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and semi-quantitatively hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs)) were measured in 70 blubber samples, and total mercury (Hg) was measured in 67 liver samples from a similar set of individuals. Legacy POPs (PCBs, chlordanes, DDTs, and HCHs) were the predominant organic compound classes in both subpopulations, with median concentrations of 2360 ng/g lipid for Sigma(80)PCBs and 1890 ng/g lipid for Sigma 6DDTs. Backward stepwise multiple regressions showed that at least one of the four independent variables (subpopulation, sampling year, sex, and animal length) influenced the POP and Hg concentrations. Sigma PCBs, Sigma DDTs, Sigma chlordanes, Sigma chlorobenzenes, mirex, and Hg were significantly higher in belugas from the eastern Chukchi Sea than from the Cook Inlet (p <= 0.0001). In contrast, Sigma 8PBDE and alpha-HBCD concentrations were significantly lower in belugas from the eastern Chukchi Sea than from the Cook Inlet (p<0.0001). Significant temporal increases in concentrations of Sigma 8PBDE and alpha-HBCD were observed for both subpopulations (p <= 0.0003), and temporal declines were seen for Sigma HCHs and Sigma chlorobenzenes in eastern Chukchi Sea belugas only (p <= 0.0107). All other POP and Hg concentrations were stable, indicating either a lagging response of the Arctic to source reductions or the maintenance of concentrations by unregulated sources. Sex and length also significantly influenced some concentrations, and these findings are discussed. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available