Persistent organic pollutants in the diet of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) inhabiting Puget Sound, Washington (USA), and the Strait of Georgia, British Columbia (Canada): a food basket approach.
Harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) inhabiting Puget Sound (WA, USA) recently were found to be seven times more contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) than those inhabiting the adjacent Strait of Georgia (BC, Canada). We carried out a food basket approach to approximate realistic dietary exposures of both new (e.g., polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs]) and legacy (e.g., dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane [DDT]) persistent organic pollutants (POPs) for these harbor seals. Food basket homogenates, each consisting of over 200 individual prey items, were constructed using documented dietary preferences for harbor seals in these basins, and analyzed for organochlorine pesticides, flame retardants, and other persistent contaminants. Concentration rankings for the major contaminant classes in the Puget Sound food basket were sigmaPCBs > sigmaPBDEs > sigmaDDT, and for the Strait of Georgia food basket were sigmaPCBs > sigmaDDT > sigmaPBDEs, highlighting the emergence of PBDEs as a significant concern in the regional environment. Consistent with observations in harbor seals, PCB concentrations in the Puget Sound food basket were seven times higher than in its Strait of Georgia counterpart. Based on our food basket results, the estimated daily intake of sigmaPCB toxic equivalents to dioxin by Puget Sound harbor seals exceeds some wildlife consumption guidelines for PCBs. Our results indicate that both legacy and new POPs present a health risk to these marine mammals.
Cullon
Donna L
DL
Institute of Ocean Sciences, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, 9860 West Saanich Road, P.O. Box 6000, Sidney, British Columbia V8L 4B2.
Jeffries
Steven J
SJ
Ross
Peter S
PS
D000818:Animals; D001955:British Columbia; D003634:DDT / Q000032:analysis*; D004032:Diet; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D020387:Food Chain; D046049:Phoca / Q000502:physiology*; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*; D014861:Washington
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D011075:Polybrominated Biphenyls; D003634:DDT; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls