title: Modelling exposure of oceanic higher trophic-level consumers to polychlorinated biphenyls: pollution 'hotspots' in relation to mass mortality events of marine mammals.
abstract: Marine mammals in the past mass mortality events may have been susceptible to infection because their immune systems were suppressed through the bioaccumulation of environmental pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We compiled mortality event data sets of 33 marine mammal species, and employed a Finely-Advanced Transboundary Environmental model (FATE) to model the exposure of the global fish community to PCB congeners, in order to define critical exposure levels (CELs) of PCBs above which mass mortality events are likely to occur. Our modelling approach enabled us to describe the mass mortality events in the context of exposure of higher-trophic consumers to PCBs and to identify marine pollution 'hotspots' such as the Mediterranean Sea and north-western European coasts. We demonstrated that the CELs can be applied to quantify a chemical pollution Planetary Boundary, under which a safe operating space for marine mammals and humanity can exist.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research Development, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan. Electronic address: itsuki@chikyu.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Itsuki C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Handoh
authors.affiliation: Center for Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8506, Japan.
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D004787:Environmental Pollution; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D008297:Male; D008322:Mammals; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009026:Mortality; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000633:toxicity*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Chemical pollution; Critical exposure level; Mortality events of marine mammals; Multi-media model; Planetary Boundaries; Polychlorinated biphenyls