title: Serum POP concentrations are highly predictive of inner blubber concentrations at two extremes of body condition in northern elephant seals.
abstract: Long-lived, upper trophic level marine mammals are vulnerable to bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Internal tissues may accumulate and mobilize POP compounds at different rates related to the body condition of the animal and the chemical characteristics of individual POP compounds; however, collection of samples from multiple tissues is a major challenge to ecotoxicology studies of free-ranging marine mammals and the ability to predict POP concentrations in one tissue from another tissue remains rare. Northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) forage on mesopelagic fish and squid for months at a time in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, interspersed with two periods of fasting on land, which results in dramatic seasonal fluctuations in body condition. Using northern elephant seals, we examined commonly studied tissues in mammalian toxicology to describe relationships and determine predictive equations among tissues for a suite of POP compounds, including ΣDDTs, ΣPCBs, Σchlordanes, and ΣPBDEs. We collected paired blubber (inner and outer) and blood serum samples from adult female and male seals in 2012 and 2013 at Año Nuevo State Reserve (California, USA). For females (N = 24), we sampled the same seals before (late in molting fast) and after (early in breeding fast) their approximately seven month foraging trip. For males, we sampled different seals before (N = 14) and after (N = 15) their approximately four month foraging trip. We observed strong relationships among tissues for many, but not all compounds. Serum POP concentrations were strong predictors of inner blubber POP concentrations for both females and males, while serum was a more consistent predictor of outer blubber for males than females. The ability to estimate POP blubber concentrations from serum, or vice versa, has the potential to enhance toxicological assessment and physiological modeling. Furthermore, predictive equations may illuminate commonalities or distinctions in bioaccumulation across marine mammal species.
authors: Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114, USA. Electronic address: petersmg@berkeley.edu.
authors: Michael G
authors: MG
authors: Peterson
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
authors: Sarah H
authors: SH
authors: Peterson
authors: Institut des Sciences de la Vie, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2/L7.05.08, 1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors: Cathy
authors: C
authors: Debier
authors: Toxicological Center, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors: Adrian
authors: A
authors: Covaci
authors: Toxicological Center, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium; Department of Chemistry, "Al. I. Cuza" University of Iasi, Carol I Bvd, No. 11, 700506, Iasi, Romania.
authors: Alin C
authors: AC
authors: Dirtu
authors: Toxicological Center, Universiteit Antwerpen, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors: Govindan
authors: G
authors: Malarvannan
authors: Department of Biology, Sonoma State University, 1801 East Cotati Ave, Rohnert Park, CA 94928, USA.
authors: Daniel E
authors: DE
authors: Crocker
authors: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, 100 Shaffer Road, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
authors: Daniel P
authors: DP
authors: Costa
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology*; D002140:California; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D046048:Seals, Earless; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Fasting; Marine mammal; Partitioning coefficients; Pinniped; Predictive-equations; Tissue-correlation