Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in Caspian seals of unusual mortality event during 2000 and 2001.
Persistent organic pollutants including organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, and PCDDs/DFs were determined in the blubber of Caspian seals, which died during an outbreak of canine distemper virus in 2000 and 2001. DDTs were the predominant contaminants that ranged from 3.1 to 560 microg/g lipid. A negative correlation was observed between concentration of contaminants and blubber thickness. During spring, as the blubber layer becomes thin after breeding and moulting, seals may face higher risk due to the increased concentration of organochlorines in their bodies. TEQs in the blubber of Caspian seals (10-340 pg TEQ/g) were lower than those in seals from other locations, suggesting that toxic effects of these contaminants are a deal less in the present population and they are unlikely to be linked to mass mortality. The levels of PCBs and pesticides in Caspian seals, however, comparable to those in other aquatic mammals that have suffered from epizootics, might pose a risk of immunosuppression.
Kajiwara
Natsuko
N
Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, 2-5 Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan. kajiwara.natsuko@nies.go.jp
Watanabe
Mafumi
M
Wilson
Susan
S
Eybatov
Tariel
T
Mitrofanov
Igor V
IV
Aubrey
David G
DG
Khuraskin
Lev S
LS
Miyazaki
Nobuyuki
N
Tanabe
Shinsuke
S
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000737:chemistry; D000818:Animals; D001382:Azerbaijan; D003634:DDT / Q000032:analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D004216:Distemper / Q000276:immunology; D004217:Distemper Virus, Canine; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D005618:Fresh Water; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D007492:Iran; D007623:Kazakhstan; D008297:Male; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000032:analysis; D046048:Seals, Earless / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000009:adverse effects
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D007306:Insecticides; D000072317:Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins; D003634:DDT; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls