title: The relationship between land use and emerging and legacy contaminants in an Apex predator, the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), from two adjacent estuarine watersheds.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Persistent organohalogen contaminant (POC) exposure is of concern in marine mammals due to the potential for adverse health effects. Studies have examined POCs in marine mammals on a regional scale; however, limited data exists on POC concentrations relative to land use and watersheds.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Examine geographical variation of POC concentrations in bottlenose dolphins as it relates to land, and watershed, use.
  
  
  METHODS
  POC (PCBs, DDTs, and PBDEs) concentrations were measured in blubber of bottlenose dolphins (n= 40) sampled in estuarine waters near Charleston, SC. Photo-identification sighting histories were used to assess the dolphins' use of estuarine waters in two adjacent watersheds (Cooper Subbasin and Stono Subbasin) in the study area and to determine land use (developed, forested, agriculture, and wetland) associations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Dolphins with ≥ 75% of their sightings in the Cooper Subbasin, which is characterized by a higher degree of developed land use, exhibited higher levels of PCBs, PBDEs, and total pesticides than those with ≥ 75% of their sightings in the Stono Subbasin. Observed differences were significant for ΣPBDEs and ΣDDTs/ΣPCBs ratio. Significant positive correlations were observed between ΣPBDEs and developed land use and between ΣDDTs/ΣPCBs and wetland land use. A significant negative correlation was observed between ΣDDTs/ΣPCBs and developed land use.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The spatial pattern of PBDEs and the ΣDDTs/ΣPCBs detected in dolphin blubber was shown to vary significantly with adjacent watersheds and land use associations.
authors.affiliation: Ocean Associates, Inc. Under Contract to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Protected Resources, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA. Electronic address: Jeff.Adams@noaa.gov.
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: JHT, Inc. Under Contract to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Hollings Marine Lab, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA.
authors.forename: Todd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Speakman
authors.affiliation: JHT, Inc. Under Contract to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Hollings Marine Lab, 331 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zolman
authors.affiliation: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health & Biomolecular Research, 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA.
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mitchum
authors.affiliation: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health & Biomolecular Research, 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.affiliation: Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution at Florida Atlantic University, 5600 U.S. 1 North, Ft. Pierce, FL 34946, USA; Georgia Aquarium, 225 Baker Street, NW Atlanta, GA 30313, USA.
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Bossart
authors.affiliation: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Center for Coastal Environmental Health & Biomolecular Research, 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Fair
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000737:chemistry*; D000383:Agriculture; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D050681:Bottle-Nosed Dolphin / Q000378:metabolism*; D004777:Environment; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D063366:Estuaries; D020387:Food Chain; D065928:Forests; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated / Q000032:analysis*; D013022:South Carolina; D053833:Wetlands
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated
keywords: Apex predator; Bioaccumulation; Bottlenose dolphins; Land use; Persistent organohalogen compounds (POC); Spatial distribution; Watershed