Abstract:
Long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas) are the most frequently stranded cetaceans in the world; however, the predominant drivers of these events are poorly understood. In this study the levels of persistent organic pollutants from pilot whales stranded in North-east Iceland were quantified and compared to historical data and physical parameters to investigate whether contaminant load may have influenced the physiological state of stranded individuals, how these loads fluctuate with sex and age group, and if this is consistent with the literature. Historical comparison was also carried out to discern how pollutant contamination has changed throughout the past few decades. DDE, transnonachlor and PCB-153 were the top three pollutants respectively. The accumulation of POPs was greater on average in immature individuals than adults, whilst among adults, males had higher concentration than females. Moreover, despite an indication of decreasing POP loads throughout the years, knowledge of harmful thresholds remains exceedingly limited.
摘要:
长鳍领航鲸(Globicephalamelas)是世界上最常搁浅的鲸类动物;然而,对这些事件的主要驱动因素知之甚少。在这项研究中,对滞留在冰岛东北部的领航鲸的持久性有机污染物水平进行了量化,并与历史数据和物理参数进行了比较,以调查污染物负荷是否可能影响滞留个体的生理状态。这些负荷如何随性别和年龄组波动,如果这与文献一致。还进行了历史比较,以了解污染物污染在过去几十年中的变化。DDE,trunnonachlor和PCB-153分别是前三名污染物。未成熟个体的持久性有机污染物平均积累大于成年人,而在成年人中,男性的浓度高于女性。此外,尽管有迹象表明持久性有机污染物负荷多年来一直在下降,对有害阈值的了解仍然非常有限。