Contaminant and health monitoring of endangered Southern Resident killer whales
Presentation Abstract
The Environmental Chemistry Program at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center has been analyzing chemical tracers, including environmental pollutants, stable isotope ratios and fatty acids, in support of studies related to NOAA trust resources for more than 40 years. These analyses are conducted for a range of NOAA mission-critical projects such as: ensuring the safety of seafood in response to natural and anthropogenic disasters and providing scientific support on NOAA Natural Resource Damage Assessment litigation-sensitive studies on protected species such as Chinook salmon, marine mammals and sea turtles, and providing data that help describe the population age structure and foraging ecology (including marine distribution) of populations of ESA-listed marine mammals and salmonids. Southern Resident killer whales were listed as endangered in the United States and Canada as a result of the population declining. Since the early 1990s, US and Canadian studies have characterized toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as a threat to this population. As long-lived top predators, Southern Residents are vulnerable to contaminants that occur in urban and industrial areas with high shipping and vessel activities such as Puget Sound where they reside and feed. Studies to date have shown that Southern Residents contain higher POPs concentrations than those in northern residents and other northeastern Pacific killer whale populations, and that contaminant burden and exposure are strongly associated with sex and age. Data have largely been derived from non-lethal remote biopsy samples and analyses conducted on blubber and skin. In addition to POPs, measurements of petroleum related hydrocarbons and total mercury have also been conducted to characterize baseline levels. More recently, investigations have been conducted on feces to investigate POPs as well as reproductive and stress steroids, and on breath samples to investigate pathogenic microbes and antibiotic resistant bacteria, to increase our knowledge on the health of this population.
Session Title
General contaminant toxicology in aquatic and terrestrial species
Conference Track
Fate and Effects of Pollutants
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2016 : Vancouver, B.C.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2016 12:00 AM
End Date
2016 12:00 AM
Location
2016SSEC
Type of Presentation
Oral
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Killer whale--Conservation--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Killer whale--Effect of water pollution on--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Killer whale--Effect of human beings on--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Killer whale--Effect of oil spills on--Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Contaminant and health monitoring of endangered Southern Resident killer whales
2016SSEC
The Environmental Chemistry Program at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center has been analyzing chemical tracers, including environmental pollutants, stable isotope ratios and fatty acids, in support of studies related to NOAA trust resources for more than 40 years. These analyses are conducted for a range of NOAA mission-critical projects such as: ensuring the safety of seafood in response to natural and anthropogenic disasters and providing scientific support on NOAA Natural Resource Damage Assessment litigation-sensitive studies on protected species such as Chinook salmon, marine mammals and sea turtles, and providing data that help describe the population age structure and foraging ecology (including marine distribution) of populations of ESA-listed marine mammals and salmonids. Southern Resident killer whales were listed as endangered in the United States and Canada as a result of the population declining. Since the early 1990s, US and Canadian studies have characterized toxic persistent organic pollutants (POPs) as a threat to this population. As long-lived top predators, Southern Residents are vulnerable to contaminants that occur in urban and industrial areas with high shipping and vessel activities such as Puget Sound where they reside and feed. Studies to date have shown that Southern Residents contain higher POPs concentrations than those in northern residents and other northeastern Pacific killer whale populations, and that contaminant burden and exposure are strongly associated with sex and age. Data have largely been derived from non-lethal remote biopsy samples and analyses conducted on blubber and skin. In addition to POPs, measurements of petroleum related hydrocarbons and total mercury have also been conducted to characterize baseline levels. More recently, investigations have been conducted on feces to investigate POPs as well as reproductive and stress steroids, and on breath samples to investigate pathogenic microbes and antibiotic resistant bacteria, to increase our knowledge on the health of this population.
