Bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in female common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from western European seas: Geographical trends, causal factors and effects on reproduction and mortality

Type Article
Date 2008-05
Language English
Author(s) Pierce G1, 2, Santos M1, 2, Murphy S3, 5, Learmonth J1, Zuur A4, Rogan E3, Bustamante Paco6, 18, Caurant Florence6, 18, Lahaye V1, 6, Ridoux Vincent6, 18, Zegers B7, Mets A7, Addink M8, Smeenk C8, Jauniaux T9, Law R10, Dabin W11, Lopez A12, Farre J12, Gonzalez A13, Guerra A13, Garcia Hartmann M7, 14, Reid R15, Moffat C16, Lockyer C17, Boon J7
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Aberdeen, Sch Biol Sci, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, Scotland.
2 : Inst Espanol Oceanog, Ctr Oceanog Vigo, Vigo, Spain.
3 : Natl Univ Ireland Univ Coll Cork, Enterprise Ctr, Dept Zool Ecol & Plant Sci, AFDC, Cork, Ireland.
4 : Highland Stat, Newburgh AB41 6FN, Aberdeen, Scotland.
5 : Univ St Andrews, Sea Mammal Res Unit, Gatty Marine Lab, St Andrews KY16 8LB, Fife, Scotland.
6 : IFREMER Univ La Rochelle, CNRS, UMR 6217, Ctr Rech Ecosyst Littoraux Anthropises, F-17042 La Rochelle, France.
7 : Royal Netherlands Inst Sea Res, NL-1790 AB Den Burg, Texel, Netherlands.
8 : Natl Museum Nat Hist, NL-2300 RA Leiden, Netherlands.
9 : Univ Liege, Dept Pathol, Liege, Belgium.
10 : Cefas, Burnham On Crouch CM0 8HA, Essex, England.
11 : Ctr Rech Mammiferes, F-17000 La Rochelle, France.
12 : CEMMA, Gondomar 36380, Pontevedra, Spain.
13 : CSIC, Inst Invest Marinas, Vigo 36208, Spain.
14 : Elephant House, D-47058 Duisburg, Germany.
15 : Drummondhill, SAC Vet Sci Div, Inverness IV2 4JZ, Scotland.
16 : FRS Marine Lab, Aberdeen AB11 9DB, Scotland.
17 : Age Dynam, N-9020 Tromsdalen, Norway.
Source Environmental Pollution (0269-7491) (Elsevier), 2008-05 , Vol. 153 , N. 2 , P. 401-415
DOI 10.1016/j.envpol.2007.08.019
WOS© Times Cited 52
Keyword(s) Diet, Reproduction, Persistent organic pollutants, Delphinus delphis, Phocoena phocoena
Abstract Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in blubber of female common dolphins and harbour porpoises from the Atlantic coast of Europe were frequently above the threshold at which effects on reproduction could be expected, in 40% and 47% of cases respectively. This rose to 74% for porpoises from the Southern North Sea. PCB concentrations were also high in southern North Sea fish. The average pregnancy rate recorded in porpoises (42%) in the study area was lower than in the western Atlantic but that in common dolphins (25%) was similar to that of the western Atlantic population. Porpoises that died from disease or parasitic infection had higher concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) than animals dying from other causes. Few of the common dolphins sampled had died from disease or parasitic infection. POP profiles in common dolphin blubber were related to individual feeding history while those in porpoises were more strongly related to condition. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Pierce G, Santos M, Murphy S, Learmonth J, Zuur A, Rogan E, Bustamante Paco, Caurant Florence, Lahaye V, Ridoux Vincent, Zegers B, Mets A, Addink M, Smeenk C, Jauniaux T, Law R, Dabin W, Lopez A, Farre J, Gonzalez A, Guerra A, Garcia Hartmann M, Reid R, Moffat C, Lockyer C, Boon J (2008). Bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants in female common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) and harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from western European seas: Geographical trends, causal factors and effects on reproduction and mortality. Environmental Pollution, 153(2), 401-415. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2007.08.019 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/7314/