Organochlorine Residues in South American Sea Lions, Otaria flavescens (Shaw, 1800): Bioaccumulation and Time Trends

BORRELL, A., A. GARCÍA-SOLÀ, A. AGUILAR, N.A. GARCÍA & E.A. CRESPO.

BULLETIN OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY

SPRINGER

Lugar: New York; Año: 2010 vol. 84 p. 731 - 737

0007-4861

Abstract Blubber from stranded South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) was sampled between 1991 and 2005 on the Peninsula Valde´s in Argentina and analyzed for organochlorine (OC) pollutants. Mean blubber concentrations, expressed on an extractable basis, were 686 (SD = 1,060) ng g-1 for dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (tDDT) and 735 (SD = 787) ng g-1 for polychlorinated byphenils (PCB). The OC levels were well below those associated with adverse sublethal effects and lethality in mammals. OC concentrations showed statistically significant associations with age that were positive in males and negative in females. These trends are consistent with the majority of marine mammal populations studied. There were no trends in the levels of tDDT or PCB over time. In spite of the low levels detected, OC contamination was present consistently over the 14-year period, suggesting continuous inputs from geographic redistribution. Blubber from stranded South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) was sampled between 1991 and 2005 on the Peninsula Valde´s in Argentina and analyzed for organochlorine (OC) pollutants. Mean blubber concentrations, expressed on an extractable basis, were 686 (SD = 1,060) ng g-1 for dichlorodiphenyl trichloroethane (tDDT) and 735 (SD = 787) ng g-1 for polychlorinated byphenils (PCB). The OC levels were well below those associated with adverse sublethal effects and lethality in mammals. OC concentrations showed statistically significant associations with age that were positive in males and negative in females. These trends are consistent with the majority of marine mammal populations studied. There were no trends in the levels of tDDT or PCB over time. In spite of the low levels detected, OC contamination was present consistently over the 14-year period, suggesting continuous inputs from geographic redistribution.