title: Polychlorinated biphenyl congener distributions in burbot: evidence for a latitude effect.
abstract: The authors compared the distributions of the congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) detected in whole-body samples of burbot (Lota lota) from Great Slave Lake and Lake Erie. Total PCB concentrations in Great Slave Lake burbot were about one-sixtieth of the concentrations in Lake Erie burbot. Burbot from Great Slave Lake contained a higher proportion of lower-chlorinated (2-6 chlorines) congeners than did burbot from Lake Erie; the reverse occurred for more highly chlorinated (7-9 chlorines) congeners. Hexachloro congeners, followed by pentachloro congeners, dominated the proportions of total PCBs in burbot from both lakes. There were no differences between sexes in whole-body samples or between gonad and somatic tissues in the proportions of the 39 congeners and 3 sets of coeluters detected in burbot from Great Slave Lake. In contrast, there were distinct sex differences in congener distributions for older burbot from Lake Erie. The results generally supported a prediction of higher proportions of lower-chlorinated PCB homologs in organisms in remote polar areas. However, the latitudinal effect on PCB congener distribution may be more complex than that portrayed in previous studies.
authors.affiliation: Lake Erie Biological Station, US Geological Survey, Sandusky, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Martin A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Stapanian
authors.forename: Charles P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Madenjian
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Cott
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Rediske
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: O'Keefe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002170:Canada; D002713:Chlorine / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D048388:Gadiformes; D005843:Geography; D060106:Lakes; D008297:Male; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D002713:Chlorine; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls
keywords: Burbot; Congener; Great Slave Lake; Homolog; Lake Erie; Polychlorinated biphenyl