Contaminant blubber burdens in Atlantic bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus) from two southeastern US estuarine areas: Concentrations and patterns of PCBs, pesticides, PBDEs, PFCs, and PAHs

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 408; no. 7; pp. 1577 - 1597
• Main Authors: Fair, Patricia A., Adams, Jeff, Mitchum, Gregory, Hulsey, Thomas C., Reif, John S., Houde, Magali, Muir, Derek, Wirth, Ed, Wetzel, Dana, Zolman, Eric, McFee, Wayne, Bossart, Gregory D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 01.03.2010; [Amsterdam; New York]: Elsevier Science; Elsevier
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Adults; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Atlantic Ocean; Biological and medical sciences; Bottle-Nosed Dolphin - metabolism; Bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus); Chromatography, Gel; Contaminants; Dieldrin; Dolphins; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Lipids; Male; Males; Mammalia; Marine; Marine and brackish environment; Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs); Persistent organic contaminants; Pesticides; Pesticides - metabolism; Polyallylamine hydrochloride; Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs); Polychlorinated biphenyls; Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Polycyclic Compounds - metabolism; Southeastern United States; Tursiops truncatus; Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism; United States; North America; Atlantic Ocean; America; Southeastern United States; USA; ANW, USA, South Carolina, Charleston; ASW, USA, Florida, Indian River Lagoon; A, Atlantic; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs); Perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs); Bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus); Persistent organic contaminants; Atlantic Ocean; Pesticides; Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH); Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs); Brackish water environment; Agricultural chemical product; Adipose tissue; Estuaries; Concentration measurement; Persistent organic pollutant; Aquatic environment; Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus); Chlorine Organic compounds; Chlorocarbon; Bromine Organic compounds; Aromatic compound; Cetacea; Organic compounds; Ether; Polychlorobiphenyls; Flame retardant; Polycyclic aromatic compound; Low volatile compound; Tursiops truncatus; Vertebrata; Polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Mammalia; Water pollution; Fluorine Organic compounds; Contaminant
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.12.021

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlorinated pesticides (i.e., dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites, chlordanes (CHLs), dieldrin, hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and mirex), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs), and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in blubber biopsy samples collected from 139 wild bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops truncatus) during 2003–2005 in Charleston (CHS), SC and the Indian River Lagoon (IRL), FL. Dolphins accumulated a similar suite of contaminants with ∑ PCB dominating (CHS 64%, IRL 72%), followed by ∑ DDT (CHS 20%, IRL 17%), ∑ CHLs (CHS 7%; IRL 7%), ∑ PBDE (CHS 4%, IRL 2%), PAH at 2%, and dieldrin, PFCs and mirex each 1% or less. Together ∑ PCB and ∑ DDT concentrations contributed ∼ 87% of the total POCs measured in blubber of adult males. ∑ PCBs in adult male dolphins exceed the established PCB threshold of 17 mg/kg by a 5-fold order of magnitude with a 15-fold increase for many animals; 88% of the dolphins exceed this threshold. For male dolphins, CHS (93,980 ng/g lipid) had a higher ∑ PCBs geomean compared to the IRL (79,752 ng/g lipid) although not statistically different. In adult males, the PBDE geometric mean concentration was significantly higher in CHS (5920 ng/g lipid) than the IRL (1487 ng/g). Blubber ∑ PFCs concentrations were significantly higher in CHS dolphins. In addition to differences in concentration of PCB congeners, ∑ PBDE, TEQ, ∑ CHLs, mirex, dieldrin, and the ratios ∑ DDE/∑DDT and trans-nonachlor/cis-nonachlor were the most informative for discriminating contaminant loads in these two dolphin populations. Collectively, the current ∑ PCB, ∑ DDT, and ∑ PBDEs blubber concentrations found in CHS dolphins are among the highest reported values in marine mammals. Both dolphin populations, particularly those in CHS, carry a suite of organic chemicals at or above the level where adverse effects have been reported in wildlife, humans, and laboratory animals warranting further examination of the potential adverse effects of these exposures.