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Hall J, Bengtson Nash S, Gautam A, Bender H, Pitcher BJ, McCallum H, Doyle C. Persistent organic pollutants and trace elements detected in New Zealand fur seals (long-nosed fur seal; Arctocephalus forsteri) from New South Wales, Australia, between 1998 and 2019. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 902:166087. [PMID: 37549703 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2023] [Revised: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Environmental pollution is a growing threat to wildlife health and biodiversity. The relationship between marine mammals and pollutants is, however, complex and as new chemicals are introduced to ecosystems alongside concomitant, interacting threats such as climate change and habitat degradation, the cumulative impact of these stressors to wildlife continues to expand. Understanding the health of wildlife populations requires a holistic approach to identify potential threatening processes. In the context of environmental pollution in little studied wildlife species, it is important to catalogue the current exposome to develop effective biomonitoring programs that can support diagnosis of health impacts and management and mitigation of pollution. In New South Wales, Australia, the New Zealand fur seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) is a resident species experiencing population growth following devastating historic hunting practices. This study presents a retrospective investigation into the exposure of New Zealand fur seals to a range of synthetic organic compounds and essential and non-essential trace elements. Liver tissue from 28 seals were broadly analyzed to assess concentrations of organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, and essential and non-essential trace elements. In addition to contributing extensive pollution baseline data for the species, the work explores the influence of sex, age, and body condition on accumulation patterns. Further, based on these findings, it is recommended that a minimum of 11 juvenile male New Zealand fur seals are sampled and analyzed annually in order to maintain a holistic biomonitoring approach for this population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jane Hall
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia; Australian Registry of Wildlife Health, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradleys Head Road, Mosman, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Susan Bengtson Nash
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Anil Gautam
- NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Environment Protection Science Branch, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Hannah Bender
- Australian Registry of Wildlife Health, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradleys Head Road, Mosman, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Benjamin J Pitcher
- Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradleys Head Road, Mosman, New South Wales, Australia; School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Wallumattagal Campus, Macquarie Park, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Hamish McCallum
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Christopher Doyle
- NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Environment Protection Science Branch, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Toxic and essential trace element concentrations in Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) skeletal muscle varies by location and reproductive status. Polar Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-022-03069-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/16/2022]
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Castellini JM, Rea LD, Avery JP, O’Hara TM. Total Mercury, Total Selenium, and Monomethylmercury Relationships in Multiple Age Cohorts and Tissues of Steller Sea Lions (Eumetopias jubatus). ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY 2022; 41:1477-1489. [PMID: 35274766 PMCID: PMC9433051 DOI: 10.1002/etc.5329] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2021] [Revised: 11/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) tissue mercury concentrations increasingly above thresholds of concern occur in regions of Alaska where lack of population recovery is noted. Selenium-monomethylmercury interactions may mitigate toxicosis but may also result in functional selenium deficiency, impacting essential selenium-dependent processes. Physiologically driven differences in tissue concentrations (organotropism) of total mercury ([THg]), total selenium ([TSe]), and monomethylmercury ([MeHg+ ]) confound interpretation for various age cohorts. Archived tissues from Alaska Steller sea lions (2002-2016) were used to compare [THg], [MeHg+ ], and [TSe] across age cohorts and tissue types. Liver [THg] ranged from 0.05 to 63.7 µg/g. Fetal and pup livers had significantly lower [THg] and [TSe], higher percentage MeHg+ , and greater range of molar TSe:THg than subadult and adult livers. Molar Se:MeHg+ ratios, including Se in excess of nonmethylmercury, were dependent on [MeHg+ ] in fetuses and pups. While [THg] varied significantly by muscle type (heart vs. skeletal) and anatomical location, concentrations were strongly correlated. Biomagnification and/or bioaccumulation of THg in liver of older animals confounded comparison with other tissues; however, in fetal and pup liver [THg] correlated with other tissues. In contrast, liver [MeHg+ ] correlated with other tissues across all age classes. Fetal and pup tissues, which reflect in utero exposure and are subject to limited bioaccumulation, are ideal for assessing mercury exposure related to dam diet, including intertissue comparison, and represent key cohorts of concern. Evaluating [MeHg+ ] and [TSe] in tissues from multiple age cohorts allows better intertissue comparison, providing insight into time courses, routes of exposure, and potential for adverse effects. Environ Toxicol Chem 2022;41:1477-1489. © 2022 SETAC.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Margaret Castellini
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
| | - Lorrie D. Rea
- Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
| | - Julie P. Avery
- Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
| | - Todd M. O’Hara
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
- Water and Environmental Research Center, Institute of Northern Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
- Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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Diet-driven mercury contamination is associated with polar bear gut microbiota. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23372. [PMID: 34862385 PMCID: PMC8642428 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02657-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The gut microbiota may modulate the disposition and toxicity of environmental contaminants within a host but, conversely, contaminants may also impact gut bacteria. Such contaminant-gut microbial connections, which could lead to alteration of host health, remain poorly known and are rarely studied in free-ranging wildlife. The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a long-lived, wide-ranging apex predator that feeds on a variety of high trophic position seal and cetacean species and, as such, is exposed to among the highest levels of biomagnifying contaminants of all Arctic species. Here, we investigate associations between mercury (THg; a key Arctic contaminant), diet, and the diversity and composition of the gut microbiota of polar bears inhabiting the southern Beaufort Sea, while accounting for host sex, age class and body condition. Bacterial diversity was negatively associated with seal consumption and mercury, a pattern seen for both Shannon and Inverse Simpson alpha diversity indices (adjusted R2 = 0.35, F1,18 = 8.00, P = 0.013 and adjusted R2 = 0.26, F1,18 = 6.04, P = 0.027, respectively). No association was found with sex, age class or body condition of polar bears. Bacteria known to either be involved in THg methylation or considered to be highly contaminant resistant, including Lactobacillales, Bacillales and Aeromonadales, were significantly more abundant in individuals that had higher THg concentrations. Conversely, individuals with higher THg concentrations showed a significantly lower abundance of Bacteroidales, a bacterial order that typically plays an important role in supporting host immune function by stimulating intraepithelial lymphocytes within the epithelial barrier. These associations between diet-acquired mercury and microbiota illustrate a potentially overlooked outcome of mercury accumulation in polar bears.
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Mosites E, Rodriguez E, Caudill SP, Hennessy TW, Berner J. A comparison of individual-level vs. hypothetically pooled mercury biomonitoring data from the Maternal Organics Monitoring Study (MOMS), Alaska, 1999-2012. Int J Circumpolar Health 2020; 79:1726256. [PMID: 32039659 PMCID: PMC7034428 DOI: 10.1080/22423982.2020.1726256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomonitoring for heavy metals is important to assess health risks, especially in Arctic communities where rural residents rely on locally harvested foods. However, laboratory testing for blood contaminants is expensive and might not be sustainable for long-term monitoring. We assessed whether pooled specimen biomonitoring could be a part of a plan for blood contaminant surveillance among pregnant women in rural Alaska using existing blood mercury level data from three cross sectional studies of pregnant women. We applied a hypothetical pooled specimen template stratified into 8 demographic groups based on age, coastal or inland residence, and pre-pregnancy weight. The hypothetical geometric mean blood mercury levels were similar to the individual-level geometric means. However, the 95% confidence intervals were much wider for the hypothetical geometric means compared to the true geometric means. Although the variability that resulted from pooling specimens using a small sample made it difficult to compare demographic groups to each other, pooled specimen results could be an accurate reflection of the population burden of mercury contamination in the Arctic in the context of large numbers of biomonitoring samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Mosites
- Arctic Investigations Program, Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - Ernesto Rodriguez
- Department of Global Environmental Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Samuel P Caudill
- Division of Laboratory Sciences, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Thomas W Hennessy
- Arctic Investigations Program, Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Anchorage, AK, USA
| | - James Berner
- Center for Climate and Health, Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, Anchorage, AK, USA
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Pancaldi F, Galván-Magaña F, González-Armas R, Soto-Jimenez MF, Whitehead DA, O'Hara T, Marmolejo-Rodríguez AJ, Vázquez-Haikin A, Páez-Osuna F. Mercury and selenium in the filter-feeding whale shark (Rhincodon typus) from two areas of the Gulf of California, Mexico. MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN 2019; 146:955-961. [PMID: 31426243 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2018] [Revised: 07/06/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Mercury and selenium were measured for first time in the endangered species whale shark (Rhyncodon typus) from two areas of the Gulf of California, Bahía Los Angeles (BLA) and Bahía La Paz (LAP) using dermal biopsies of seventy specimens. Additionally, nineteen zooplankton samples from LAP were analysed. Concentrations (ng/g, wet weight (ww)) in biopsies of BLA ranged from 1 to 40 for Hg and 100 to 680 for Se; while in LAP varied from 1 to 9 for Hg and 11 to 850 for Se. A positive correlation was found for Hg in BLA males biopsies with length. Hg and Se concentrations in the zooplankton from LAP were 1.6 ± 1.8 and 770 ± 930 ng/g, respectively. Hg biomagnification factor ranged from 0.8 to 5.3 in sharks. A molar excess of Se over Hg was found in the biopsies and the zooplankton.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Pancaldi
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Av. IPN s/n, 23096 La Paz, BCS, Mexico
| | - Felipe Galván-Magaña
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Av. IPN s/n, 23096 La Paz, BCS, Mexico
| | - Rogelio González-Armas
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Av. IPN s/n, 23096 La Paz, BCS, Mexico
| | - Martin F Soto-Jimenez
- Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82040, Mexico
| | - Darren A Whitehead
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Av. IPN s/n, 23096 La Paz, BCS, Mexico
| | - Todd O'Hara
- Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775-7000, United States
| | - Ana J Marmolejo-Rodríguez
- Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Centro Interdisciplinario de Ciencias Marinas, Av. IPN s/n, 23096 La Paz, BCS, Mexico
| | - Abraham Vázquez-Haikin
- Asociación de Pesca Deportiva y Ecoturismo de Bahía de los Ángeles, Domicilio conocido Bahía de los Ángeles, Baja California 22980, Mexico
| | - Federico Páez-Osuna
- Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82040, Mexico; Miembro de El Colegio de Sinaloa, Antonio Rosales 435 Poniente, Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico.
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Trukhin AM, Simokon MV. Mercury in organs of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) from the Bering Sea. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2018; 25:3360-3367. [PMID: 29151185 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-0566-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is still used as an important source of protein-rich food by indigenous peoples of Chukotka, Alaska, and other Arctic regions. Total mercury (THg) concentration was measured in eight internal organs of walruses. Samples were taken from 22 individuals (11 males and 11 females). Age of the animals ranged from 1 to 30 years. All the walruses were harvested by local hunters from the coastal waters off the Chukchi Peninsula (Russia) during the autumn of 2011. Total mercury concentration in the samples was determined by atomic absorption method. No statistically significant difference in the level of mercury was found between males and females. Mercury was detected in all the organs of the studied walruses. The highest total mercury concentration was recorded from excretory organs: liver and kidneys. The level of mercury in liver (mean = 1.87 μg/g, range = 0.05-5.87) was by an order of magnitude higher than in kidneys (mean = 0.54 μg/g, range = 0.09-1.64.); in kidneys, it was by an order of magnitude higher than in the rest of the organs. The analyzed organs can be arranged in the order of decreasing Hg concentration as follows: liver >> kidney >> muscle > spleen ≥ heart ≥ intestine > lung ≥ testis. The mercury concentration values in walruses from the coastal waters off the Chukchi Peninsula are lower than those obtained from walruses in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. Our findings may provide a basis for the further long-term monitoring of the condition of the Pacific walrus population and pollution of the Arctic ecosystem.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexey M Trukhin
- V.I. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, FEB RAS, Baltiyskaya st., 43, Vladivostok, Russia, 690041.
| | - Mikhail V Simokon
- Pacific Research Fisheries Center, Shevchenko st., 4, Vladivostok, Russia, 690600
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