• The males of the Cook Inlet and Eastern Chukchi Sea stocks had higher mean concentrations of all contaminant groups than did the females of the same stock, a result attributable to the transfer of these organochlorine contaminants (OCs) from the mother to the calf during pregnancy and during lactation following birth. (amap.no)
  • Results for ringed seals from the Alaska Arctic revealed low blubber concentrations of OC contaminants. (amap.no)
  • Many zooplankton are eaten by small fish, which are then eaten by larger fish, and contaminant concentrations continue to bioaccumulate and biomagnify. (ocean.org)
  • The study concluded that local bottlenose dolphins have higher concentrations of these contaminants in their blubber than other groups in European waters. (bailiwickexpress.com)
  • Her past work included a ten-year study of the contaminant concentrations and health of the resident harbor seals of San Francisco Bay. (umaine.edu)
  • Harp seals are high in the food chain and have high concentrations of poison, including mercury compounds, in their blubber. (harpseals.org)
  • Despite the high concentrations of toxins, the oil obtained from this blubber layer is sold in capsules as a nutrition supplement. (harpseals.org)
  • Whaling is the hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. (wikipedia.org)
  • Both meat and blubber (muktuk) are eaten from narwhals, belugas and bowheads. (wikipedia.org)
  • The distribution of pilot whale meat and blubber in the Faroe Islands follows specific rules laid out in the early nineteenth century and little changed since. (dolphinproject.com)
  • The fact that people are paying to eat whale meat and blubber seems surprising given that the European Union and Faroese health authorities have warned that consumption is dangerous to human health. (dolphinproject.com)
  • In June 2011, however, the Faroese Food and Veterinary Agency urged limited consumption of one meal of pilot whale meat and blubber per month for adults weighing 70 kilos (about 150 lbs). (dolphinproject.com)
  • And scientists often analyze blubber to see what whales are eating. (kunc.org)
  • In North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis), a significant decline in reproduction and health in the 1990s led to the application of faecal-based analyses to study stress and reproductive endocrinology, marine biotoxin exposure and prevalence of disease-causing protozoa. (researchgate.net)
  • Blubber of these whales contained sum PCBs, sum DDTs, sum chlordanes, HCB, dieldrin, mirex, *toxaphene and *HCH, generally in concentration ranges similar to those found in white whales from the Canadian Arctic and lower than those in white whales from the highly contaminated St. Lawrence River. (amap.no)
  • I am using these data to look at contaminant levels within and around killer whale critical habitat (areas where killer whales spend a large proportion of their time). (ocean.org)
  • These data are helping us better understand which contaminants killer whales and other marine organisms are being exposed to and possible health effects. (ocean.org)
  • Eventually, contaminants are passed from prey to the top predators of the marine food chain (killer whales), resulting in the highest levels of contaminants. (ocean.org)
  • Food web bioaccumulation of contaminants in killer whales (Miller et al. (ocean.org)
  • The most dangerous and toxic types of contaminants found in killer whales belong to a group called Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). (ocean.org)
  • POPs are of particular concern in killer whales because they bioaccumulate in fatty tissues (blubber) and have negative health effects, such as reproductive impairment, suppression of the immune system, and disruption of the endocrine (hormone) system (Buckman et al. (ocean.org)
  • The threat to killer whales from POP exposure is evident from PCBs alone. (ocean.org)
  • Studies have shown extremely high levels of PCBs within the blubber of BC's killer whales, making them "among the world's most PCB-contaminated marine mammals" (Ross et al. (ocean.org)
  • With growing evidence that BC killer whales are vulnerable to food web bioaccumulation of POPs, and given their current status as either "threatened" (northern residents and Bigg's killer whales) or "endangered" (southern residents) under the Species At Risk Act (SARA) in Canada, strict regulations for the assessment and management of contaminants should be put in place to conserve killer whale critical habitat. (ocean.org)
  • The skin and blubber of sperm whales from across the Pacific Ocean carry evidence of exposure to a class of toxic pollutants, with whales living around the Galapagos Islands showing the strongest signs of exposure, according to a new study. (ttu.edu)
  • Killer whales are apex (top) predators in the ocean's food web and consequently receive high contaminant loads from their prey. (wildwhales.org)
  • At times of prey scarcity, the whales are forced to metabolize their blubber reserves, which in turn releases PCBs and other toxins into their bloodstreams. (ocean.org)
  • These pollutants get deposited in fatty tissues, such as whale blubber. (kunc.org)
  • A survey of bottlenose dolphins - the type most commonly spotted around Jersey - found record high levels of mercury in their blubber and skin, as well as toxic pollutants banned as many as four decades ago. (bailiwickexpress.com)
  • Various airborne pollutants can also enter marine systems through atmospheric transport and deposition in which contaminants are deposited directly into the environment and/or via rainfall, snow or fog. (wildwhales.org)
  • Cetaceans are particularly vulnerable to Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), as they will accumulate in their thick layer of blubber. (wildwhales.org)
  • Exposure, bioaccumulation, metabolism and monitoring of persistent organic pollutants in terrestrial wildlife. (comprehensivephysiology.com)
  • Airaksinen R, Rantakokko P, Eriksson JG, Blomstedt P, Kajantie E, Kiviranta H. Association between type 2 diabetes and exposure to persistent organic pollutants. (comprehensivephysiology.com)
  • Growing evidence suggests that exposure to pollutants can alter how fat is stored and used in humans and in other animals. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • Recently, the genes of some fat-regulating hormones were shown to be switched on more in blubber of seals from polluted areas in the Baltic Sea than in clean areas in the Arctic, suggesting marine pollutants alter energy balance in seals. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • We will take small blubber samples from live feeding and fasting seals, without harming them, and treat the blubber with pollutants and fat regulating hormones. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • This will help predict the effects of pollutants on seal population size, by contributing a better understanding of how contaminants affect survival of young seals and change their energetic requirements. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • Population declines have been attributed to exposure to persistent environmental pollutants, decreased food quality and availability, and acoustic and physical disturbance from vessels. (ocean.org)
  • Associations between immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels and the organochlorine contaminants (OCs) polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), chlordanes, 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl) ethylene (DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) in blood plasma from polar bears caught at Svalbard were determined. (pdfdrug.com)
  • In contrast, initial results identified that the common dolphins with contaminant burdens above a threshold level for adverse health effects in marine mammals (17 µg g -1 total PCBs lipid) were resting mature females, with high numbers of ovarian scars. (nafo.int)
  • POPs are notorious for their long-range transport and persistence in the environment, and some of the most well-known POPs include pesticides such as Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), flame retardant chemicals known as Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDEs), and pervasive industrial chemical contaminants such as Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). (ocean.org)
  • POPs include toxic contaminants - such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (DDT), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), mercury, dioxins and furans - that remain in the marine environment and build-up within the fatty tissues of marine organisms. (wildwhales.org)
  • This study found that female belugas transferred 11.4% of the PCBs and 11.1% of the PBDEs within their blubber to their fetuses in the womb. (wildwhales.org)
  • The placental transfer and congener composition of organic contaminants (OCs) in Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins have been little studied. (bvsalud.org)
  • PMMHA samples that are archived in the NIST Biorepository are collected and processed according to detailed standardized protocols, which makes NIST Biorepository samples specifically useful for analytical analysis of organic contaminants, trace elements, and other chemical analytes. (nist.gov)
  • Ethoxylated surfactants are ubiquitous organic environmental contaminants that have received continued attention over the past several decades, particularly as manufacturing rates increase worldwide and as toxicity concerns grow regarding alcohol ethoxylates. (sfei.org)
  • In the present study, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 18 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and 28 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were analyzed in muscle, lung, liver, kidney, and blubber tissues from three mother-fetus pairs of this species stranded along the Pearl River Estuary, China. (bvsalud.org)
  • Furthermore, OCs with low molecular weights and low log KOW values were more concentrated in the fetal blubber, lung, and liver tissues than in their respective mothers. (bvsalud.org)
  • Bioaccumulation is the process by which contaminants enter the food web, passing from the environment or food to individual organisms and building up in their tissues. (ocean.org)
  • Methods: We analyzed cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) expression (by immunohistochemistry), stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios (as general indicators of trophic position and latitude, respectively), and contaminant burdens in skin biopsies to explore regional trends in the Pacific Ocean. (mblwhoilibrary.org)
  • In general, CYP1A1 expression was not significantly correlated with contaminant burdens in blubber. (mblwhoilibrary.org)
  • In harbour porpoises, high POP burdens tended to be associated with lower ovarian scar number, possibly indicating that high contaminant levels were inhibiting ovulation, or some females may go through a number of infertile ovulations prior to a successful pregnancy, birth, and survival of their first offspring during early lactation. (nafo.int)
  • This suggests that (a) due to high contaminant burdens, females may be unable to reproduce, thus continue ovulating, or (b) females are not reproducing for some other reason, either physical or social, and started accumulating higher levels of contaminants. (nafo.int)
  • Results suggested that high contaminant burdens, above the threshold level, were not inhibiting ovulation, conception or implantation in female D. delphis , though the impact on the foetal survival rate (in both species) requires further examination. (nafo.int)
  • Harp seals, like all marine mammals, now have high levels of toxins in their blubber as a result of the pollution of the oceans with synthetic pesticides and industrial chemicals. (harpseals.org)
  • Blubber samples from Alaska ringed seal (Phoca hispida) were collected for inclusion in the US National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank, as well as for immediate analysis as part of the contaminant monitoring component of the US National Marine Fisheries Service's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. (amap.no)
  • POPs are the main contaminants causing concern for the health of marine mammals. (wildwhales.org)
  • POPs are not only acquired by consuming contaminant-laden prey, but are also passed from female to calf during gestation and nursing through their rich, fatty milk. (wildwhales.org)
  • The higher the level of POPs in the blubber of seal pups, the lower their chance of survival. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • The AT also plays a role in the toxicokinetics of POPs since it can store these chemicals for a long time and, in that sense, may be protective during acute exposure. (ecog-obesity.eu)
  • Thus, this tissue constitutes an endogenous source of chronic exposure to POPs. (ecog-obesity.eu)
  • Having analysed samples of skin and blubber from 82 bottlenose dolphins, the research group said organochlorinated contaminants were among the compounds most commonly found. (bailiwickexpress.com)
  • Our data suggest a high exposure of the NBG bottlenose dolphins linked to their high trophic position and their diet, which is composed of mackerel," the scientists said. (bailiwickexpress.com)
  • Pictured: The team analysed biopsy samples of skin and blubber from 82 bottlenose dolphins. (bailiwickexpress.com)
  • While this transfer of contaminants from female to calf may be very harmful for the calf, it does mean that females reduce their contaminant load significantly every time they rear young 16, 19 . (wildwhales.org)
  • Agay‐Shay K, Martinez D, Valvi D, Garcia‐Esteban R, Basagana X, Robinson O, Casas M, Sunyer J, Vrijheid M. Exposure to endocrine‐disrupting chemicals during pregnancy and weight at 7 years of age: A multi‐pollutant approach. (comprehensivephysiology.com)
  • Perinatal exposure to several endocrine disruptors leads to increased body weight later in life as well as to several metabolic disorders, which may partially contribute to the obesity epidemics and interact with other risk factors. (ecog-obesity.eu)
  • Objective: We explored the hypothesis that biomarker and contaminant analyses in skin biopsies of the threatened sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) could reveal geographical trends in exposure on an oceanwide scale. (mblwhoilibrary.org)
  • Harp seals have a thick layer of blubber underneath their skin, which protects them from the freezing temperatures of the North Atlantic (and which attaches to the skin when sealers skin the seals). (harpseals.org)
  • Seals are important top marine predators that have to build up a thick blubber layer while feeding at sea, and then use the fat as a metabolic fuel to keep them alive when they come ashore to breed, moult and rest. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • Such contaminants were banned in the 70s and 90s, but the scientists explained that their persistent chemical properties mean that they can travel far and remain in water for many years, as well as penetrating deep ocean fauna. (bailiwickexpress.com)
  • Biomagnification occurs when contaminants are passed from one level of the food chain to the next, increasing in concentration with each level. (ocean.org)
  • Dianne is convinced that accurate contaminant monitoring is key to effective environmental policy protecting wildlife and human health. (umaine.edu)
  • The study, funded by the EPA Environmental Justice Small Grants Program, will identify fishing locations and species that minimize mercury exposure to tribal members, provide a template for contaminant studies in tribal waters across the U.S., and document the need for improvement in federal mercury emissions policy. (umaine.edu)
  • Zooplankton feed on phytoplankton and in turn accumulate contaminants at a higher concentration. (ocean.org)
  • The PollutionTracker database stores tens of thousands of data records for contaminants of concern to ocean health. (ocean.org)
  • Ocean Wise is also working to document the levels and trends of hundreds of contaminants of concern in mussels and nearshore ocean sediments via the Ocean Wise Pollution Tracker. (ocean.org)
  • A comprehensive survey on organochlorine (OC) contaminants in polar bears at Svalbard has been undertaken. (pdfdrug.com)
  • The physicians noted that mercury and PCB exposure contribute to Parkinson's disease in adults, impaired immunity in children, and compromised fetal development. (dolphinproject.com)
  • White whale (Delphinapterus leucas) blubber samples from three of the five different Alaskan stocks - Cook Inlet (n = 20), Eastern Chukchi Sea (n = 19) and Eastern Beaufort Sea (n = 2) - were analyzed for levels and patterns of chemical contaminants. (amap.no)
  • The blubber samples were analyzed for organochlorine (OC) contaminants (e.g. (amap.no)
  • Since the NIST Biorepository is a long-term cryogenic storage repository, PMMHA samples are available for research questions involving emerging contaminants or health concerns that arise in the future. (nist.gov)
  • This included an attempt to directly measure contaminants present in the samples, but given the small amount of tissue available for this analysis, they were not able to generate enough data to compare the presence of contaminants with the activation of the biomarker, according to Godard-Codding. (ttu.edu)
  • The International Oceanographic Commission recommends ocean health monitoring programs to investigate the presence of marine contaminants and the health of threatened species and the use of multiple and early-warning biomarker approaches. (mblwhoilibrary.org)
  • However, the mechanisms that control how fat tissue works in seals, and the way marine contaminants interfere with this control, are not well understood. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • If contaminants can prevent seals from releasing fat from blubber to give them fuel when they are fasting on land, they may have to use more of their protein from muscle tissue instead. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • By comparing these measures between treatments we will begin to find out how energy balance is normally regulated in seals, how it is altered by marine contaminants, and whether seals are more vulnerable during feeding or fasting. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • Our results also showed that blubber from the three Alaskan stocks was a source of contaminant exposure for human subsistence consumers, but the health risks from consumption are currently unknown. (amap.no)
  • Anthropogenic contaminants in the marine environment often biodegrade slowly, bioaccumulate in organisms, and can have deleterious effects on wildlife immunity, health, reproduction, and development. (ncsu.edu)
  • Sublethal cellular changes related to toxicant exposure in free-ranging odontocetes may lead to health declines and, in combination with other factors, may contribute to stranding. (ncsu.edu)
  • What we have to keep in mind when we think of ocean health is that contaminants are transported by atmospheric currents and ocean currents all the time," Godard-Codding said. (ttu.edu)
  • I would only know that organism - that [particular] animal was exposed to those contaminants," he says. (kunc.org)
  • This occurs when organisms cannot get rid of contaminants through excretion (some contaminants can be excreted, depending on their chemical properties and the organism). (ocean.org)
  • Typically, contaminants enter and concentrate at the base of a food web, within photosynthetic organisms like phytoplankton. (ocean.org)
  • Typically, contaminants enter the marine environment through industrial and agricultural runoff. (wildwhales.org)
  • We will measure levels of genes and hormones involved in energy balance, the ability of blubber to release fat, and its metabolic rate. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • From commercially hunted minkes, meat is eaten by humans or animals, and blubber is rendered down mostly to cheap industrial products such as animal feed or, in Iceland, as a fuel supplement for whaling ships. (wikipedia.org)
  • Conclusions: Our large-scale monitoring study was successful at identifying regional differences in CYP1A1 expression, providing a baseline for this known biomarker of exposure to aryl hydrocarbon receptor agonists. (mblwhoilibrary.org)
  • It could mean a higher exposure to contaminants elevated (the biomarker), but we don't know that for sure. (ttu.edu)
  • A different approach is urgently needed to minimize ongoing production, use, and exposures to hazardous chemicals. (sfei.org)
  • The pesticide was already designated a toxic air contaminant that causes harm to the respiratory tract when inhaled as well as damage to skin. (poison.news)
  • Contaminants move after entering the marine environment (Figure 2), and sediment has been shown to be both a place of "storage" and a subsequent "source" of contaminants, making it an important component of marine contaminant monitoring. (ocean.org)
  • A killer whale female's first calf receives the largest contaminant load compared to the load received by subsequent calves 16 . (wildwhales.org)
  • The prevalence of marine mammal brucellosis is not known, but cases appear to be widespread given that serologic surveys have documented nearly worldwide exposure. (msdvetmanual.com)
  • Anthropogenic Contaminants and Histopathological Findings in Stranded Cetaceans in the Southeastern United States, 2012-2018. (ncsu.edu)
  • The location where cetaceans choose to forage can affect the contaminant load they receive. (wildwhales.org)
  • Studies conducted before and after the onset of the pandemic indicate increased human exposure to QACs. (sfei.org)
  • Most of these contaminants are of human origin and have the potential to harm marine mammals. (ocean.org)
  • 2001. PBDEs in the San Francisco Bay Area: Measurements in harbor seal blubber and human breast adipose tissue. (umaine.edu)
  • The ban went into effect earlier this year after the European Food Safety Authority found that there was no safe exposure level for the chemical, which was used on corn, fruit and other crops on the continent. (poison.news)
  • Data are grouped into fourteen general contaminant classes, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, flame retardants, pesticides, heavy metals, and petrochemicals, which have been detected in sediment and mussels collected from sites along the BC coast. (ocean.org)
  • In the absence of evidence about the impact, the confidence in the vulnerability score would not necessarily be low, if we have good evidence of the exposure. (gov.scot)
  • Evidence of exposure is clearly an important consideration if the pressure/species vulnerability scores are to be appropriately prioritised for action. (gov.scot)
  • The integration of real-time contaminant monitoring with specimen banking provides important baseline data that can be used to plan and manage banking activities. (amap.no)
  • Fat tissue like blubber is important for storing fat, releasing it into the bloodstream for use by other parts of the body and producing fat-regulating hormones that control how much fat is stored or used. (arctic.ac.uk)
  • Adolfsson‐Erici M, Åkerman G, McLachlan MS. Measuring bioconcentration factors in fish using exposure to multiple chemicals and internal benchmarking to correct for growth dilution. (comprehensivephysiology.com)