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Not to be eitel! without priOf fefefellce tn the :!lIthofs

ICES C.M. 1994/(E+N):3Joint Session on Occllrence ami Effecls ofContaminants in Marine Mammals

ORGANOCHLORINE CONTAMINANTS IN MARINEMAMMALS FROM THE NORWEGIAN ARCTIC

--Janneche Utne Skaare1,2#, Oscar Espeland1, Kar! Jnne Ugland3, Aksel ßernhoftl,

0ystein Wiig4 and Lars Kleivane l •

1. Norwegian College of Veterinary Mcdicine, Department of Phanmcology, Microbiology and FoodHygiene, Division of Phannacology and Toxicology, PO box 8146 dep., N-0033 OSLO, Norway.

2. National Veterinary Institute, Division ofToxieology and Chemistry, PO box 8156 dep., N-0033OSLO, Norway.

3. University of Oslo, Biologie:!1 Institute, Departrnent of Marine Zoology, PO box 1064, Blindem.N-0316 OSLO, Norway.

4. Zoological Museum, University of OsIo, Sarsgate I, N-0562 OSLO, Norway.# To whom correspondance should bc adresscd.

AbstractThe synthetic organochlorine (OC) compollnds, inclllding pesticitles such as DDT, asweIL as the industrial poUwants, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCRs), havefor many yearsbeen of great concern as environmental polllltants in the marine ecos)'stems. OCs arelipophilic and persistent amimay be stored in bod)' fats ami increasingly concentratedalong food webs. Environmenlal pollutants are known 10 be transferred 10 Ihe Arctic byair (and water) currents, ami the OC levels in marine mammals, polar bears, sea birds,etc., occupying high trophie levels, are orders ofmagnitude greater thanlevelsfound interrestrial wild life. Toxie effects related to exposure 10 such eompOll11ds have beenfoll1uJin marine manunals living in particlilarty poUlIted waters. Hmrever, little is known aboutsublerlIal effects. TlIus, monitoring environmental poUutants is ofgreat importanee.

Dllring rhe last 6 years we have swdied the ocellrence and levels ofselected OCs (PCRs,DDTs, ehlordanes, lIClI-isomers and lICR) in a large number of different marinemammals as apart of the Nonvegian Marine Mammal Programme. Results from thislvork have given us information on the exposure levels of different OC-eompollnds inseal species like harp seal (Phoca groenlandica), ringed seal (Phoca hispida), hoodedseaZ (Cystophora cristata), grey seal (Halichoerus grypus), harbollr seal (Phoca vitulina)and walms (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus), harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) andminke whale (ßalaenoptera acutorostrata)from the Nonvegian eoast, the Rarents Sea andthe West lee area and polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard. Altogether, sampiesfrom about 800 individuals have been analysed.

Alarmingly high PCR-levels werefound in polar bear at Svalbard (mean 25 ppm infat)and in harbour porpoise along the Nonvegian eoast (mean20 ppm in blubber). Low OC­levels were found in ringed and harp seal (3 ppm PCR in blubber), while somewhatlzigher levels werefollnd in grey seal, particularly in Varanger near the Russian border (6ppm PCR) and in hooded sealjrom the West !ce (5 ppm PCR), thOligh the individualdifferenees were Zarge. On average minke whale eontained about 3 ppm PCR, butvariation and differences were observed between groups taken at different locations.Geographical differences in OC-Ievels were registered with deereasing eontaminationfrom sOllth to north in harbour seal along the Nonvegian eoast, and increasing levels jorharp seal from west to east in Arctic areas.

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Skaare. Espe/and. Ugland.lJernllOft. ·Wiig & K/eimne

INTRonUCTION

The presence of organochlorine (OC) contaminants in the Arctic marine food \\rebs areweIl documented over the last 20 -25 years (Addisori et al., 1973; Clausen et al., 1974;Jones etai., 1976; Dom er al. , 1981; Barrett et al., 1985; l\1uir et al., 1988; Norstrom etal., 1988; Luckas et al., 1990; Woodley et al., 1991; Hargrave et al., 1992; Muir_et al.,1993; Vetter et al., 1993; Wang-Andersen et al., 1993; Gabrielsen et al., in press).Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT-components, chlordanes (CHLs),hexachlorocyclohexane (3 HCB-isomers) and hexaehlorobenzene (HCB) are amongthose chemicals wich are transported from antropogenic sources in industrialised areas tothe Arctic environment (Bidieman et al., 1981; Iversen, 1984; Oehme & Ottar, 1984;Darrie, 1986; Hargraveet al.,1988; Paeyna & Oehme, ;1988; Bidleman et al., 1989; Pattanetai., 1989; Oehme, 1991). The levels of OC-pollutants in marine mammals from theAtlantie Aretie areas, are normally mueh lower th'an corresponding levels found indifferent species living in industrialised coastal areas, like the Daltie Sea and the WaddenSea, except for the top predator, polar bear (Norheim et al., 1992). Although a ,lot ofinformation already exsists on OC-contamination pn Arctie marine mammals, fewinvestigations have beeil carried out in the eastern Atlantie Arctie (east of Greenland).

I .The metabolism of the different OCs (PCBs, DDTs, CHLs, HCHs, dioxins, ete) differsbetween different species, even between speeies be10nging to the same family (Safe,1984; Doon etai., 1991; Tatsukawa, 1992). Thus, the.OCs are "fiItered" through thefood web resulting in different OC-patterns between speeies. In environmental monitoringprograms, biological data sueh as age, sex, reproduction eycle, feeding behaviour,nutritional status and health status, as weIl as information relative to loeation and date ofeateh, are importunt and essential when interpreting analytical OC-results.

This paper reports OC levels in different marine ma~mals samp1ed between 1988 and1994 along the coast of Norway (from mid-Norway and northward) and in tneNorwegian Arctic, mostly as parts of the MarineIMammal Programme (MMP) inNorway. The main purpose of this presentationlpaper is to give a general overview of thepresent state on OC-contamination in marine mamma1s from the Norwegian Arctie areas.

II

l\IATERIALS AND METHOnS. I

Animals examined for OC-eontamination from 1988 t~ 1994 are listed in tab1e 1 togetherwith the collaborators at the different projects who in most cases were responsible forcolleeting the material. Figtire 1 shows a map where' all the northern sampIe 10eationslisted in tab1e I, are noted. Most animals were killed for scientific purpose, exceptharbour seals from 1988 (found dead during an epizootie), grey seals from Froan 1991­1993 (b100d sampIes and b1ubber biopsies taken from live anima1s), wa1rus(b1ubberbiopsies taken from live animals), polar bears 1992-1993 (blood samples.and blubberbiopsies taken from live anima1s) and different whale species found dead along the coast.

. . I . .All anima1s presented in Table 1 have been ana1ysed for OC contaminants, but preparationof the results are not yet finnished for a11 groups. Levels of oes in harbour porpoise willbe presented by Lars Kleivane and effeets of PCBs on grey seals from the Froan area willbe presented by Bj~rn Munro Jenssen at this meeting, and will not be referred in thispaper. I

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Organochlorines in Marine Mammals jrom the NOnl'egian Arctic

Tahle I: List of different marine mammals analysed for OC-contaminants hetween 1988 and1994. LOc.1tion of catch (see figure 1), year and/or time of )'ear, numhcr of animals, collahoratorsand references to publications (puhlished, in press or in prep.). All of the material is weilcharacteriscd.

SPECrES LOCATION YEAR Collahorator N SUI\1--Harl>our seal Osio fiord 1988 o(puhLA) 35

PllOca vitulina Soutllem Norway 1988 26Westem Norway 1988 18Jarfiord, Finnmark 1988/89 I 9Vesteralen 1990 2 8 96

Grey seal Jarfiord, Finnmark Oct 1989 I 14llalichoerus g01JUS Jan/1\1ar 1990 10

Vikna, Tnjndclag Mar.1989 6Froan, Tr~1ndelag 1991 3 (pubLE) 17

1992 3 7• 1992 611993 42 157

Harpseal Skjanes, Finnm. Feb 1988/89 13Phoca groenlandica Jarfionl Jantrv1ar 1990 .. 38

The West Ice area Mar. 1990 4 (in prep.D) 20Barents Sea, north Sep. 1990 2 22

JUlle/JuIy 1992 1011le East Ice area Apr/I\1ay 1993 42 145

Ringed seal Jarfiord Jan/1\1ar 1990 1 12Phoca hispida Barents Sea, north Sep. 1990 2 5

Svalhard 1992 5 13 30Hooded sealCystoplwra cristata 11le West Ice area Mar. 1990 4 (in prep.D) 27 27Walrus Svalbard 1991 6 16OdobenllS r. rosmarus 1992 .. 53 69Harbour porpoise Kattegatt 1988/89 7 (pubLB) 12

Phocoena phocoena Western Norway 1988/89 15• Tufjonl, Finnmark 1988/89 7 34Minke whale Barents./Finnm. 1988/89 2 37Balaenoptera 1992 .. 72

aClltorostrata 1993 64 173Polarbear Svalbard 1978-1989 6 (pubLC) 24Ursus maritimus 1992 6 (pubLF) 33

1993 40 97Whalesdifferent species Norwegian coast 1989-1993 17 17TOTAL NUMBER OF ANIMALS 845

0) N.H. Markussen, Univ. of Os10. 1) K. I. Ugland, Univ. of Oslo. 2) T. Haug, Univ. ofTroms~. 3) B. M. Jenssen, NINA Trondheim. 4) T. 0ritsland, Norw. Inst. Marine Res., Bergen.5) Norw. Polar Res. Inst., AMAP 6) 0. Wiig, Museum of Zoology, Oslo. 7) A. Bj0rge, NINAOs10. Publieations: A) (Skaare et al., 1990) B) (Kleivane et al., in press) C) (Norheim et al.,1992) D) (Espeland & Skaare, In prep.) E) (Jenssen et aL, 1994) F) (Skaare et al., in prep.)

3

. ·kaare. Espeland. r;/an I. ßemlloft. Wii\? & J.,.':t'inllll'

Figure 1: Map showing the different sampling loeations for marine mammals from the Norwegian eoast(mid-Norway and northward), Norwegian Aretie areas, the Ea t lee, and the We t lee listed in Table 1, page 3.

Analytical procedureSamples of the aB marine mammals were homogenised with an Ika Ultra Turrax™.Sampies were weighed and extracted two times with cyclohexane and acetone using anultrasonic homogenizer (4710 series, Cole-Parmer) followed by cleanup with sulfuricacid as deseribed by (Brevik, 1978) with some modifieations (Skaare et al.. 1988).Sampies were automatieally injected on a Carlo Erba, HRGC 5300 Mega series equippedwith a splitJsplitless injector, a 25 m/O.32 mrn i.d. Ultra 1 colurnn (Hewlett-PackardComp., before 1992), a 60 rn/O.25 mm i.d. CP-SIL 8 for PCBs (Chrompack) and aCarlo Erba 63Ni- eleetron eapture deteetor. Helium (before 1992) and hydrogen wereused as carrier gas (2 rnlJrnin) and the split ratio was 1:30 of 1 ~l. The chromatographiedata was ealeulated using the software Maxima 820 Chromatography Workstation(Millipore Waters) on an Olivetti PC M290.

All amples (blubber in most cases) were analysed for 22 PCB-congeners (I.PCB),IUPAC nos: -28, -52, -74, -99, -101, -105, -110, -114, -118, -128, -138, -153. -156,-157, -170, -180, -187, -194, -206 and -209; 5 DDT components and rnetabolites(IDDT): p,p'- DDT, p,p'- DDE, p,p'- DDD, o,p'- DDT and o,p'- DDD; chlordanes(I,CHL): heptachlor, heptachlor epoxide, oxy-chlordane and trans-nonachlor; hexa­chlorocyclohexane-isorners (IHCH): a-HCH, ß-HCH and y-HCH; and hexachloro-benzene (HCB). In most eases only the most abundant groups of OCs: IPCB. I.DDTand LCHL will be referred. Details will be available in publications in the near future.

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Organochforines in Marine Mammals{rom rhe Nonl'egian. Arcric

Analytical quality assurance (AQA)The laboratory has palticipated in several intercalibration tests. Good analytical quality fordetermination of p,p '- ODE, ß-HCH, total PCBs, and the major PCB-congeners inhuman milk was confirmed by successful participation in interlaboratory tests organizedby WHO/UNEP (The World Health Organisation! United Nations EnvironmentalProgramme) in 1982 and 1992. Participation in the four steps of theICES/IOC/OSPARCOM (International COLl.nciljor Exploration oj the Seal InternationalOceanographic Commissionl Oslo-Paris Commission) test on mmine matelial, placed thelaboratory in good and acceptable groups compared to the other palticipating laboratories.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Comparing OC-levels in different speciesFigure 2 shows the mean level of I,PCB and I,DDT in blubber/adipose tissue frommarine rnatnmals from the NOlwegian Arctic compared to some terrestrial man1mals andcorresponding levels in NOlwegian women.

8

6•

24

(\) 22;::lCF,)

'0 20(\)CF,)

8.. 18:.a

c<:l

13 16.D.D;:l 14:0.S...... 12...c:O/J

'03 10~(\)

~

~Öb8

4

2

o

mm POLAR BEAR - SVALBARD, 1992/9 (2)

o ARCTIC FOX - SVALBARD (I)

l!IlI HARBOUR PORPOISE - FI NMARK 1988/89 (3)

~ GREY SEAL- VARANGER, 1989/90

l:8l HARPSEAL· VARANGER, JANIFEB 1990

rB HARP SEAL· THE WEST ICE, FEB 1990

IEJ HOODED SEAL - THE WEST ICE, FEB 1990

~ MINKE WHALE· BARENTS SEA,1992

o NORWEGIAN WOMEN - 1992

• HARE- NORWAY

I-peR I-DDT

Figure 2: Mean levels of I.PCB and I.DDT in blubber/adipose tissue from different marinemammals from the Norwegian Arctic compared to corresponding levels in Norwegian womenand hare. All sampies but tbe sampies of harbour porpoise, have been analysed using basicallythe same metbod of I.PCB and I.DDT identification and quantification at the Norwegian Collegeof Veterinary MedicinelNational Veterinary Institute. (1) Skaare et al., in prep.; (2) Wang­Andersen er ai., 1993; (3) KJeivane er ai., in press.

5

kaare. Espefand. Ugfolld. BemITofr. Wiig & Kfeivalle

The mammals from the marine environm nt, generally contained l11uch higher levels ofOCs compared to the telTestrial hare (Lepus timidus ) and humans (Norwegian women).This difference betwe n OC-contamination in the marine and most terre trialenvironments has been known for a long time. Polar bear is a top predator in the marinefood web, eating almost exclu ively blubber of different seal species. This is reflected inthe highe t levels of I,PCB among the animals listed in.figure 2. The levels of I,QDT inpolar bear (and arctic fox) are in contra t the lowe t levels found, probably caused by adifferent metabolizing capacity compared to the seals and the whale . The arctic fox(Alopex lagopus ) from Svalbard are panly dependent on maIine food sources (sea birds,ringed eal cubs and seal carcasses left by polar bear ) and contain higher amounts ofI,PCB than a fox feeding on terrestrial food (Wang-Andersen er al., 1993). The highlevels of I,PCB and I,DDT found in harbour porpoises compared to the much lowerlevels in the grey seals, are difficult to explain. These two species are both feeding on fishin coastal waters, and should therefore undergo a similar exposure to OC-contaminants.The porpoise may have a different metabolizing system causing lower excretion rate thanin the grey seals. Possible geographical diffrences in the OC-disuibution through theAtlantic Arctic are seen when compating hat·p seals from the Barents Sea region and fromthe West !ce area. Female hat-p seals from the West !ce contained 1/3 to 1/2 the levels ofI,PCB and I,DDT found in animals from the Barents Sea (fig.2). •SEALSRanges of I,PCB and I,DDT levels (mg/kg wet weight) in blubber from 5 different sealspecies are given in Figure 3. Concentrations in all groups at'e lower compared tocorresponding levels found in seal species from the Baltic (Jensen er al., 1969; Paasivirta& Rantio, 1991; Blomkvist er al., 1992) and the Wadden Sea (Reijnders, 1980; Storr­Hansen & Splüd, 1993). and are generally below 10 mg/kg. Harp seals from the West lce(adult fernales) seems to be the least contaminated group with respect to these OCs, andcont.ains half the levels found in adult hooded seal females caught at the satne time of yearand at the same location.

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mrpeBt3 rDDTI Mean

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

V////~//////////////////////////@////1

rzJ/;;gM

o

Ringed seal, Jarfiord. _lJJ..q,.~:,J~.. ._.Hooded seal, the West.1~~.l~~Q,p~_l~_. .Harp seal, the West.J~~_l~~Q. !1::lQ .Harp seal, Jarfiord.J9~Q~D~)~ . .Harp seal, Skjanes_}J.~~/~J.,.r!:,!L _Grey seal, Jarfiord_}J.~~IJ_Q,.r!:,?~.. __ .. _Harbour seal,..x<;~t~!~~I~ .1..~~Q1. !?;,.8_Harbour seal, Jarfiord

__lJ.8_~IJ_Q,.r!:,? .•_U~~~~~~~~~~=::::=::-+--..

mean and range in mg/kg in blubber, wet weigbt

* one individual far outside the range for the rest of tbe group (23 animals)

Figure 3: Mean and range level of :LPCB and :LDDT (mg/kg wet weigbt) in blubber fromdifferent seal species from the BarenLS Sea region (caugbt on the coast of Finnmark) and fromthe We t lee areas.

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Organocltforines in Maril/l' Mallll17als /rOIll (he orwl'gian Arerie

These speeies differenee within the ame area are probably eaused by different foodpreferenees and different migration patterns. Seals sampled along the eoast of northernNorway at the locations of Vesterälen, Skjänes and Jarfjord shows approximately thesame range for IPCB with the lowest levels found in linged seals and in harbour sealsfrom Vesteralen. The lower levels in these harbour seals eould refleet a possibledecreasing gradient from outh to nOlth along the orwegian eoast with a small il}erea ein seals eaught near the Russian border (Figure 4). For grey seals the similar pattern isseen between animal from Vikna (mid-Norway) and Jarfjord where one male animalexeeeding the range for the re t of the group with more than 4 times higher level of IPCB(45 mg/kg) (Figure 3 and 4). This individual could be a migrating seaJ from a morecontaminated location in Russia, or the high OC-Ievels could be of coincidal character.

25.7

5..

3.4

15

3.9

10

5.8 * mg/kg inblubber

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DHarbour seal (Phoca vitulina )

[2;JGrey seal (Halichoerus grypus )

Figure 4: Mean levels of :LPCB (mg/kg wet weight) in blubberfram the two coastaI seal species, harbour seal and grey seal caughtalong the Norwegian coast 1988 to 1990. (*) Skaare er aI., 1990.

The Aretie speeies, harp and linged seal shot in Jarfjord, seems to be more contaminatedwith DDT-eompounds eompared to the two coastal seals (Figure 3). On average ringedseal and harp seal Guveniles, < 2 years of both) eontained more I,DDT than I,PCB(Figure 3 and 5). Grey seals from Jarfjord and harbour seals from Vesterälen eontainedthe lowest IDDT levels [range: 0.7 - 3.4 (19) and 0.9 - 2 mg/kg wet weight] relative toIPCB levels [range: 2.9 - 9.5 (45) and 2 - 5.1 mg/kg wet weight].

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Skaare, Espeland. Uglal1d. Bernhofi, lI'iig & Kleivane

Age and sex aspectsNo signifieant inerea e in the oe-levels with age for males, and no signifieant differeneein OC-levels between sexes were found in any of the examined seal mateJial. Thi ean beexplained by a balance between OC intake and OC exeretion at the relatively low levelsfound in the e animals. In harp seal, the juvenile anirnals « 1 year) of both sexes fromJarfjord contained higher levels of all OC compared to adults (> 6 years) (Figure 5). Aimilar pattern for 'LPCB levels wa found in harbour seals (Phoca vitulina ) from

DenmarkJSchlesvig-Holstein with a decrease from juveniles to ubadults (Reijnders,1980). Details on seasonal vaJiation and ome age a peets of OCs in the harp seal will bepresented at this meeting (Espeland et al. ]994).

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6

.... 5..c:öl).~

~4...

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~öl)

3~

ÖJ.JEi

2

• luv. males ~ 2 Y (11=10)o luv. female ~ 2 Y (11=10)• Ad. males ~ 7 Y (11=8)o Ad. females > 7 Y (11=10)

IPCB IDOl' ICHL

Figure 5: Mean level and standard deviation of IPCB,IDDT and ICHL (mg/kg wet weight) il1 blubber from juvenileand adult harp seals caught in the Jarfjord January-March 1990.

WALRUSThe sampies from walrus were taken as skinlblubber biopsies from live animals and itcould be discussed if the OC levels obtained from these sampIes are comparable to thecorresponding levels found in blubber sampIes from other seal species. The lipid contentin the biopsies was very low, 0.3 - 5.9 % (Table 2) compared to 80 - 95 % in blubbersampIes from seals, probably due to the large thicknes ofthe walms' skin which in some

Table 2: Percent lipid and levels of IPCB, IDDT and ICHL (mgikg fal weighl) inskin/blubber biopsis from 26 male and female walrus (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus)taken from live animals at Svalbard 1992. Levels are given in mean (median) andrange (min-max).

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% lipid inbio sis

median 1.41mean 1.76

range (0.27 - 5.92)

mg/kg fat weigbt in biop is of:LPCB LDDT LCHL8.88 3.46 1.6111.5 4.34 2.02

(ND - 39.4) (ND - 23.1) (ND - 7.39)

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Organochlorines in Marine Mal11Jnalsjrom lhe Nom'egian Arclic

cases can reach 6 cm at the neck (King, 1983). Levels of LPCB, LDDT and I.CHL onfat weight (Lw.) basis were therefore generally high in some sampies and elose to thedetection limit in those with low lipid content (Table 2). Mean and median as weB asrange values of OCs are generaBy higher compared to other seal species in the Barenl<;Sea region.

Most walrus' feed on a low trophic level on benthic animals like bivalve moBuscs (Myatrll1lcata, Saxicava arct;ca, Serripes groenlwuJiclis ), but some animals seem to cat youngringed seals or bearded seals (Erignarlllls barbattts) (King, 1983). This variation in diet ata low and at a high trophic level should be expected to give some variation in aC-levelsand may be the explanation of some of the high levels of IPCB (39.4 mglkg Lw.) andIDDT (23.1 mglkg f.w.). Similar rcsults have been reported by Segstro er al., (personalcommunication, D.C.G. Muir) in walrus from the Canadian Arctic.

MINKE WHALE

Tahle 3: Levels of IPeB and IDDT (mg/kg wet weight) in blubber from maIe undfemale minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata ) from the Norvegiun scientific catchesalong tlle northem Norwegian coust und in the Barents Sea region during 1988/89 und in1992. Levels ure given in mcan (median) und range (min-max).

Year IPCB: IBBT:numhcrs Males Females Males Females

1988/89 2.7 (2.3)* 1.1 (1.0) 2.3 (1.9) 1.2 (1.2)n==17/20 (0.63 - 5.93) (0.47 - 1.94) (0.54 - 5.79) (0.49 - 5.93)

1992 3.7 (3.3) 2.0 (1.9) 2.4 (2.2) 1.4 (1.2)n==31130 (0.54 - 8.28) (1.13 - 4.05) (0.46 - 4.86) (0.57 - 2.88)

* mean (median)(min - max)

No significant difference (p>0.05, Wilcoxon signed-rank) in IPCB and I.DDT levelswas found between minke whales caught during 1988/89 and in 1992 (Table 3). Minkewhales from the Norwegian scientific cateh in 1992 were shot at 5 different loeations offthe coast of northem Norway and in the Barents Sea area (names of loeations in Figure6A1B). Mean levels of IPCB, IDDT and ICHL in blubber sampIes were generallyhigher in males than in females when comparing all 61 animals (31 males and 30 females)caught in 1992. Females from Finnmark/Kola contained lower levels (signifieant,p<0.05, Wilcoxon signed-rank) of I.DDT and ICHL eompared to the Svalbard group(Figure 6B). For males, higher levels of OCs were found in animals taken around theDear Island, compared to animals from the coast of Finnmark (signifieant, p<0.05) to theKola peninsula (Figure 6A).

Age was not available for these animals when this was written, but according to animallength, the male whales from the Bear Island seem to be older than the other male groups,whieh eould be a reasonable explanation for the higher aC-levels. Migmtion to differentloeations in southem areas north of the Equator in the winter time, mayaIso influence theOC-Ievels. The composition of DDT-components in the male groups also showed adifferent pattern for theanimals caught around the Bear Island. The relative amount of themetaboIite p,p'. DDE is conciderably lower in these animals compared to the two other

9

Skaare. Espeland. Ugland, Bem.hofl, Wiig & Kleivane

groups (Figure 7). This lower proportion of p,p '- ODE also indicates different expo ureto OCs for thi group of male

3.0

7

6

A: MALES

• BEAR ISLAND 11=12o KOLA 11=9o FINNMARK 11=9

*

3.S B: FEMALES

• SVALBARD 11= 14o FINNMARKIKOLA 11=12

2.S

2.0

1.S

1.0

O.S

O~-----.------.------r-----.-------,I-pcn I-DDT I-CHL

* SignificanLly(p<O,OS' Wilcoxon)lower than animals from Bear lsland

ol........r:I=-_-p-C-n-r-----r:=I=-_-D-D-T....,---,.,I=--_C"-H----rL

*Sigl1ificanLly(p<O,OS; Wilcoxon)lower than animals from Svalbard

Figure 6 AlB: Mean levels and standard deviation of I,PCB, I,DDT and I,CHL (mg/kg wet weight) inblubber from A: males and B: fernales of minke whales hot at differentlocations off northem Norway and inthe BarenlS Sea region during tlle Norwegian scientific catch in 1992. Note: Different scale on the y-axi formale (0 - 7 mg/kg) and females (0 - 3.S mg/kg).

so11 BEAR ISLAND n=12

40 f0J KOLA n=9

lliJ FINNMARK n=9

f-< 30Cl •ClH......0 20~

10

0p,p'- DDT p,P'-DDE p,p'- DDD o,P'-DDT o,p'-DDD

* Significantly lower compared to ilie two otller groups

Figure 7: Mean relative amounts (% of LDDT) of p,p'- DDT, p,p'- DDE,p,p '. DDD, o,p'· DDT and o,p'· DDD in blubber from male minke whalescaught at t1uee different locations in tile Ba.renlS Sea region during tlleNorwegian cienlific catch in 1992.

10

Organoclilorines in Marille Mammalsjrom Ihe NonH'gian Arctic

. Comparing OC levels in minke whales caught in the Harents Sea region with oe levels inother marine mammals in this area are to a certain degree possible. But the differentmigration during winter time to areas along the coast of Africa, north of the Equator forthe whales in contrast to the stationary seals, has to be taken into consideration. lIowever,the minke whale is known to feed mainly on fish along the Norwegian coast duringspring-autumn (Lydersen et al., 199 I) and is thereby placed at the same stage of the foodweb as most seal species. This is also reflected in similar oe levels between minke-whaleand most seal species in the Barents Sea area (Figure 3 and 6).

POLAR BEARThe polar bear is at the top of the marine food ehain, and is an important indieator of theexisting bioaeeumulation of persistent pollutants in the Aretic biota. Biopsies ofsubcutaneous fat from adult male polar bears (;;::: 7 years) at Svalbard 1990-1993 eontainedthe highest mean levels of IPCB (28 mglkg fat weight, Table 4) among the examinedanimals in this paper (Skaare er al., in prep.). The PCB levels were eomparable to theeorresponding levels found in polar bears from Svalbard between 1978 amd 1989(Norheim et aI., 1992) but were higher compared to eorresponding levels in pooled polarbear sampIes from the Canadian Aretic (3 - 8 mg/kg fat weight) (Norstrom et aI., 1988).

Tahle 4: Levels of :LPCB and :LDDT (",,100% p,p'. DDE)(mg/kg [at weight) in subcut.'U1eous fat (biopsis) [rom polar bearscaught alive at Svalbard during 1990-93. Levels are given inmean (median) and range (min-max). (Skaare et al., in prep.).

:Lpcn DmT (ppDDE)

Junnilcs, 1·2 )'ears 10.4 (8.66) 0.64 (0.53)males/females, n=5 (4.81 - 16.1) (0.30 - 1.12)

Suhadult.., 3-6 years 16.7 (13.5) 0.32 (0.25)males/females, n=20 (5.45 - 36.7) «0.002- 0.86)

Adult females, 14.9 (9.19) 0.34 (0.28)?7 years, n=19 (3.23 - 41.5) «0.002- 1.22)

Adult males, 27.8 (23.9) 0.28 (0.24)

?7 years. n=16 (8.50 - 57.5) (<0.002· 1.01)

IPCB levels were signifieantly higher (p<O.05, Tukey-Kramer) in adult males eomparedto adult females (~ 7 years). The oe pattern in the polar bear is unique among mammals(Boon et ai., 1991; Norheim et aI., 1992). This is especially cIear with regard to themetabolism of DDT, where the biomagnifieation factor (BMF) from prey to predator isbelow 1 (BMF<1) (Muir et ai., 1988; Boon et aI., 1991; Norheim et al., 1992). In Figure8, this is illustrated were levels of IpeB and IDDT in ringed seal (important prey,especially blubber) and polar bears are compared. Furthermore, relatively high levels ofoxyehlordane are deteeted in the polar bear population at Svalbard (Norheim et ai., 1992;Skaare et al.. in prep.). The same ehlordane component was also registerd at relativelyhigh levels in an other Arctie mammal inhabiting Svalbard, the aretie fox (Wang-Andersenet al.. 1993). Among industrial waste products. very low levels of PCdioxin congeners

11

Skaare, E.\peland. Ugland. l3emhofr. Wiig & Kleivane

(PCDOs) and no detectable amount of PCdibenzofuran (PCOFs) were found in polarbear from Svalbard (Oehme et al., 1988).

I,DDT

Polar bear femalesn=19

Polar bear malesn=16Ringed sealmales/females n= 12

J~---median

....~iI~---mean

I,PCB

60

öl)

~E 10

~ 50.D.D:l

:D~

<1l 40C/)

:loCl)

@ 30.....:lU

.D:lC/)

c 20......

Figure 8: Mean level (and tandard deviation) of I,PCB, I,DDTand I,CHL in subcutaneous fat biopsis of male and female polar bear(mg/kg fat weight) from Svalbard 1992/93 compared Locorresponding levels the po ible food item: blubber sampie ofringed seal (mg/kg wel weight) from Ule Jarfiord, norUlem Norway1990.

•PCB CONGENER PATTERNSInterspecies differences were found in PCB congener pattern depending mainly ondifferences in prey preferences and metabolizing capacity. However, in this presentationno detailed discussion will be given as to the differences observed. Figure 9 shows themean relative amounts of aselected group of the most abundant PCB-congeners in minkewhale, grey seal, harp seal and polar bear. Large differences are found between the sealiving animals and polar bear with a tendency of increased accumulation of PCB-153(2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexaCB) and the higher chlorinated congeners; PCB-180·(2,2',3,4,4',5,5'- heptaCB), PCB-170 (2,2',3,3',4,4',5,-heptaCB) and PCB-194 (2,2',3,3',4,4',5,5'-octaCB) in the polar bears.

Gf the most toxie eongener analysed in the present work, the mono-ortho substitutedPCBs, PCB-118 (2,3',4,4',5-pentaCB) and PCB-105 (2,3,3',4,4'-pentaCB) seem to beeliminated in the bears compared to the relatively high amount found in the grey seal, harpseal and minke whale. In contrast the mono-ortho congeners PCB-156 (2,3,3',4,4',5­hexaCB) and PCB-157 (2,3,3 ',4,4',5'-hexaCB), seem to appear in more equal arnounts

12

Organocltlorines in Marin.e Mamma!s fTOII7 rITe Nonvegial1 Arcric

in the four species (Figure 9). Three of the most accumulated congeners in polar bear(PCB-153 -180, -194) contains no vicinal hydrogen atoms, a criterion for epoxidationand further metabolizing in the anima1s (Boon et al., 1991).

45

~ Minke whalc40

35!illl Grey seaJ

30~ Harp seal

co• Polar bearU 250..

H'- 200

&15

10

5

000 N ...... 0\ 0\ 00 C") V) 00 00 \0 t- 0 0 ~ \0 0\C';l ";l 0 ":' ~ ...... V) 0 C") N V) V) 00 t- 0\

~0...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... C;1c:o c:o , c:o ,

~, ,

~, . . , , ,

U U c:o U co co co co co co co co co co co0... 0... U 0... U U U U U U U U U U U U U

0... 0... 0... 0... 0... 0... 0... 0... 0.. 0.. 0.. 0.. 0.. 0...

Figure 9: Mean PCB-congener pattem (percenrage contribution of each PCB congener to I.PCB) in bothsexes of minke whale (1992), grey seal (1989/90) and harp seal (1990) caught off the coast of Finnmark,Norway and polar bear (1992/92) caught at Svalbard.

In the seals, PCB-153 and PCB-138 (2,2',3,4,4',5'-hexaCB) are the two most abundantcongeners contributing between 20-25 % each to the I,PCB (Figure 9). The PCBcongener pattern in the minke whale differs from that of seals in that they contain more ofPCB-52 (2,2',5,5'-tetraCB), PCB-149 (2,2',3,4',5',6-hexaCB, only found in minkewha1es) and PCB-128 (2,2',3,3',4,4'-hexaCB). This difference in PCB eongener patternbetween minke whales and seals in spite of some similarities in food sourees, eould beexp1ained by the migration of the whales and probably a eomplete1y different exposure toPCB eongeners during the winter. In addition, differenees in metabolizing capacity mayalso playa role.

SUMMARY

Levels of OCs in marine mammals from the Norwegian Aretie reported in this paper areon a general basis moderate to low in different seal species and minke whale « 10 mg/kgin b1ubber). However, high levels of partieularly PCBs, were found in polar bear atSvalbard (3-57 mg/kg in fat) and harbour porpoise eaught in Tufjord, Finnmark (21mg/kg in blubber).The present results reveal a further need for monitoring the input ofOCs to the Arctie fauna. The ongoing studies on polar bears at Svalbard (Skaare & al., inprep.) and grey seals at Froan (Jenssen & al., 1994) using blood samp1es and blubber/fat

13

14

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Ibiopsies from live animals, makes monitoring of animals from small populations possibleavoiding U11necessary killing. Monitoring animals from larger stocks (minke whale, harpseal, hooded seals, ringed seals) should be possible in the future in combination withcatching activities. Studies on the possible effects of OC body burden on the differentspecies, particularly the more contaminated polar beur and harbour porpoise, should beencouraged. I

IAckllowlcdgcmcllts ;Appreciarion is exspressed 10 all ofour collaborators: Nina 11. Markussen, University ofOslo; Tore lIaug, University of Tromso,' Bjom Munro Jenssen, NINA Trondheim;Torger 0ritsland. NorwegianInstitute ofMarine Research, Bergen; Arne Bj(Jrge, NINAOslo,' the Non1,,'egian Polar Institute, Oslo. lVe are most grateful to Steinar Magl1ussen.local hunter at Jarfjordfor collecting seal material, an(J to Paul E. Asp/101m. University ofOslo,jor doing the age determinations Oll the sealsfrom Jarfjord. lVe also want to thankSigne /laugen, Siri Foreid ami Erna Stai at the laboraroryfor doing parts ofthe analyticalwork on this material. The analyses ofthis material,;was provided withfundsfrom theMarine Mammal Research Programme directed bY

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j,

I.

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'11ft i ......