PMID- 37818957
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20231102
LR  - 20231106
IS  - 1520-5851 (Electronic)
IS  - 0013-936X (Linking)
VI  - 57
IP  - 42
DP  - 2023 Oct 24
TI  - Varying Diet Composition Causes Striking Differences in Legacy and Emerging 
      Contaminant Concentrations in Killer Whales across the North Atlantic.
PG  - 16109-16120
LID - 10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 [doi]
AB  - Lipophilic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) tend to biomagnify in food 
      chains, resulting in higher concentrations in species such as killer whales 
      (Orcinus orca) feeding on marine mammals compared to those consuming fish. 
      Advancements in dietary studies include the use of quantitative fatty acid 
      signature analysis (QFASA) and differentiation of feeding habits within and 
      between populations of North Atlantic (NA) killer whales. This comprehensive 
      study assessed the concentrations of legacy and emerging POPs in 162 killer 
      whales from across the NA. We report significantly higher mean levels of 
      polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and flame retardants 
      in Western NA killer whales compared to those of Eastern NA conspecifics. Mean 
       summation operatorPCBs ranged from  approximately 100 mg/kg lipid weight (lw) in the Western NA (Canadian 
      Arctic, Eastern Canada) to  approximately 50 mg/kg lw in the mid-NA (Greenland, Iceland) to  approximately 10 
      mg/kg lw in the Eastern NA (Norway, Faroe Islands). The observed variations in 
      contaminant levels were strongly correlated with diet composition across 
      locations (inferred from QFASA), emphasizing that diet and not environmental 
      variation in contaminant concentrations among locations is crucial in assessing 
      contaminant-associated health risks in killer whales. These findings highlight 
      the urgency for implementing enhanced measures to safely dispose of 
      POP-contaminated waste, prevent further environmental contamination, and mitigate 
      the release of newer and potentially harmful contaminants.
FAU - Remili, Anais
AU  - Remili A
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-5801-4670
AD  - Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 
      Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada.
FAU - Dietz, Rune
AU  - Dietz R
AD  - Department of Ecoscience, Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, 900 
      Vestmannaeyjar, Denmark.
FAU - Sonne, Christian
AU  - Sonne C
AD  - Department of Ecoscience, Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, 900 
      Vestmannaeyjar, Denmark.
FAU - Samarra, Filipa I P
AU  - Samarra FIP
AD  - University of Iceland, 900 Vestmannaeyjar, Reykjavik 600169-2039, Iceland.
FAU - Letcher, Robert J
AU  - Letcher RJ
AD  - Ecotoxicology and Wildlife Health Division, Wildlife and Landscape Science 
      Directorate, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Carleton University, Ottawa, 
      Ontario K1A 0H3, Canada.
FAU - Rikardsen, Audun H
AU  - Rikardsen AH
AD  - Faculty of Biosciences, Fisheries and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of 
      Norway, 9037 Tromso, Norway.
AD  - Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), N-9296 Tromso, Norway.
FAU - Ferguson, Steven H
AU  - Ferguson SH
AD  - Arctic Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba 
      R3T 2N6, Canada.
FAU - Watt, Cortney A
AU  - Watt CA
AD  - Arctic Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba 
      R3T 2N6, Canada.
FAU - Matthews, Cory J D
AU  - Matthews CJD
AD  - Arctic Aquatic Research Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba 
      R3T 2N6, Canada.
FAU - Kiszka, Jeremy J
AU  - Kiszka JJ
AD  - Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida 
      International University, North Miami, Florida 33181, United States.
FAU - Rosing-Asvid, Aqqalu
AU  - Rosing-Asvid A
AD  - Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, GR-3900 Nuuk, Greenland.
FAU - McKinney, Melissa A
AU  - McKinney MA
AUID- ORCID: 0000-0002-8171-7534
AD  - Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, 
      Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec H9X 3V9, Canada.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
DEP - 20231011
PL  - United States
TA  - Environ Sci Technol
JT  - Environmental science & technology
JID - 0213155
RN  - DFC2HB4I0K (Polychlorinated Biphenyls)
SB  - IM
MH  - Animals
MH  - *Whale, Killer
MH  - Environmental Monitoring
MH  - Canada
MH  - *Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis
MH  - Diet
MH  - *Caniformia
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Orcinus orca
OT  - PCBs
OT  - biomagnification
OT  - blubber
OT  - diet specialization
OT  - health risks
OT  - marine mammals
OT  - top predator
EDAT- 2023/10/11 14:44
MHDA- 2023/11/02 12:47
CRDT- 2023/10/11 08:04
PHST- 2023/11/02 12:47 [medline]
PHST- 2023/10/11 14:44 [pubmed]
PHST- 2023/10/11 08:04 [entrez]
AID - 10.1021/acs.est.3c05516 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Environ Sci Technol. 2023 Oct 24;57(42):16109-16120. doi: 
      10.1021/acs.est.3c05516. Epub 2023 Oct 11.