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Lee K, Raverty S, Cottrell P, Zoveidadianpour Z, Cottrell B, Price D, Alava JJ. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) source identification and a maternal transfer case study in threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca) of British Columbia, Canada. Sci Rep 2023; 13:22580. [PMID: 38114485 PMCID: PMC10730697 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-45306-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The northeastern Pacific (NEP) Ocean spans the coast of British Columbia (Canada) and is impacted by anthropogenic activities including oil pipeline developments, maritime fossil fuel tanker traffic, industrial chemical effluents, agricultural and urban emissions in tandem with stormwater and wastewater discharges, and forest wildfires. Such events may expose surrounding marine environments to toxic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and impact critical habitats of threatened killer whales (Orcinus orca). We analyzed skeletal muscle and liver samples from stranded Bigg's killer whales and endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKWs) for PAH contamination using LRMS. C3-phenanthrenes/anthracenes (mean: 632 ng/g lw), C4-dibenzothiophenes (mean: 334 ng/g lw), and C4-phenanthrenes/anthracenes (mean: 248 ng/g lw) presented the highest concentrations across all tissue samples. Diagnostic ratios indicated petrogenic-sourced contamination for SRKWs and pyrogenic-sourced burdens for Bigg's killer whales; differences between ecotypes may be attributed to habitat range, prey selection, and metabolism. A mother-fetus skeletal muscle pair provided evidence of PAH maternal transfer; low molecular weight compounds C3-fluorenes, dibenzothiophene, and naphthalene showed efficient and preferential exposure to the fetus. This indicates in-utero exposure of PAH-contamination to the fetus. Our results show that hydrocarbon-related anthropogenic activities are negatively impacting these top predators; preliminary data found here can be used to improve oil spill and other PAH pollution management and regulation efforts, and inform policy to conserve killer whale habitats in the NEP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiah Lee
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- Toxicology and Environmental Sciences, Department of Bioscience, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
| | - Stephen Raverty
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
- Animal Health Centre, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Paul Cottrell
- Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Fisheries and Aquaculture Management, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Zeinab Zoveidadianpour
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Brendan Cottrell
- Applied Remote Sensing Lab, Department of Geography, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Dana Price
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Juan José Alava
- Ocean Pollution Research Unit, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
- School of Resource and Environmental Management, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
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