Mercury and Selenium Levels at the Fetal and Suckling Stages of Striped Dolphin,<i>Stenella coeruleoalba</i>

Itano, Kazuomi; Kawai, Shinichiro; Miyazaki, Nobuyuki; Tatsukawa, Ryo; Fujiyama, Toraya

doi:10.1080/00021369.1984.10866387

Cited by 6 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…A study on a nursing Tursiops truncatus female revealed that metal pollutants pass from the tissue of the female into the milk [47]. A transplacental transfer from mother to pup was described for different marine mammals and several pollutants including metals [25][26][27]31]. Furthermore, a decrease can be caused by a high consumption of several elements in the first time of life.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Concentrations of Selected Essential and Non-essential Elements in Blood of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pups of the German North Sea

Kakuschke¹,

Griesel²,

Fonfara³

et al. 2008

Biol Trace Elem Res

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This study on harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups of the North Sea evaluated concentrations of 14 essential and non-essential elements (Al, As, Be, Ca, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mo, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, and Zn) in whole blood samples. The essential elements are analyzed to give references for health status determinations of pups. The measurement of classic toxic metals, like Pb or Cd, and other elements that may be in toxic concentrations in blood, is important due to their influence on health, particularly on the immune system. Blood samples of six seal pups found on the German Wadden Sea coast of Schleswig-Holstein in 2004 and transported to the Seal Centre Friedrichskoog, Germany were collected. The blood sampling was performed three times, immediately after collection of the newborns, after 1.5 months, and after 2 months before their release back into the wild. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectrometry were used to determine the element concentrations. We found higher concentrations of Al, As, Fe, Mo, and Zn in blood samples of newborns compared to samples collected later, probably due to transplacental and lactational transfer from mother to fetus. Furthermore, there is a high need for, in particular, Fe and Zn in the developing organism, which may cause reduced values after some month. In contrast, the concentrations of Be, Cd, Ca, Cr, Pb, Mn, Ni, Se, and Sn, which were low in newborns and increased during the study, may be due to the fish fed to infant pups. Compared to free-ranging adults, in pups, the concentrations of Al, Ni, and Pb were higher in contrast to lower concentrations of As, Mn, and Mo. This case study is the first report on element levels in harbor seal pups of the North Sea.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Metal exposure for seal pups may result from the transplacental and lactational transfer from mother to fetus and later through contaminated prey [25][26][27]. Metal contamination is believed to adversely affect marine mammal health [28][29][30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concentrations of Selected Essential and Non-essential Elements in Blood of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pups of the German North Sea

Kakuschke¹,

Griesel²,

Fonfara³

et al. 2008

Biol Trace Elem Res

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“…This difference exists despite the fact that there is apparently no impediment to the transplacental transport of these elements and that transfer to milk occurs, although it is reduced. The only information on percentage of body load transfer through reproduction available for cetaceans is the study by Itano et al (1984b) on striped dolphins, which indicated a gestational transfer of only 0.4-1 % of maternal load of mercury and selenium to the foetus. The ratio foetal concentration/maternal concentration for a given tissue is also indicative of gestational transfer.…”

Section: Agementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In humans, maternal milk usually contains about 5% of the mercury concentration of maternal blood (Goyer, 1991). In cetaceans, information on heavy metal content in milk is restricted to a single study on mercury and selenium in the striped dolphin (Itano et al, 1984b) but extremely low levels of lactational transfer are suggested.…”

Section: Agementioning

confidence: 99%

Biological factors affecting variability of persistent pollutant levels in cetaceans

Aguilar¹,

Borrell²,

Pastor³

1999

JCRM

214

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The main biological factors responsible for the variability of pollutant concentrations in cetaceans are reviewed. Diet is significant because many pollutants are concentrated through food webs. This explains most interspecific differences in pollutant levels and it may also contribute to variation among populations of the same species or even among different components of the same population when diet is subject to age-related or sex-related variations. The effect of body size is complex. Excretion rate and activity of detoxifying enzymes decrease as body weight increases, processes which would lead to higher pollutant concentrations in large animals. In contrast, a high metabolic rate, which is inversely correlated to body size, is associated with high pollutant concentrations. These opposing effects usually result in higher residue levels in smaller individuals. Body composition affects the contribution of each body compartment to the overall pollutant load. Therefore, the body load of lipophilic pollutants will strongly depend on the relative mass of blubber, a variable that shows a threefold variation among cetacean species or, in seasonal feeders, among individuals. Nutritive condition also affects the dynamics of lipophilic pollutants. Lipid mobilisation results in an increase in residue levels, but this variation is not as large as a purely concentrative model would suggest because of enhancement of detoxification processes following a rise in tissue pollutant concentrations. Disease affects pollutant levels in different ways: impoverishing nutritive condition; altering normal physiological functions; and depressing reproduction therefore reducing reproductive transfer in females. The combined result of these processes is usually an increase in pollutant levels in diseased individuals. The concentration of lipophilic pollutants normally increases with age in males because input exceeds the ability of the organism to excrete pollutants. Variable proportions of the pollutant load are transferred to offspring during gestation and lactation, for which reason tissue concentrations in females decrease or stabilise, thus producing lower residue levels than in males. However, because not all compounds are transferred at the same rate, their relative abundance varies with age and sex.Intensity of reproductive transfer is also associated with the reproductive traits of the species, particularly the length of lactation. With the exception of zinc, concentrations of heavy metals increase with age in both sexes but, by contrast with lipophilic pollutants, concentrations in females are similar or higher than in males. The significance of these factors of variation should be taken into account when designing sampling methodology, comparing sample groups, or evaluating toxicological impact.

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“…In addition, a fetus will pick up toxic elements from its mother, which can cause fetal teratogenesis or even death (Mayer-Popken et al, 1986;Nishikido et al, 1987). To date, little data (Honda et al, 1982;Itano et al, 1984;Fujise et al, 1988) are available on the bioaccumulation of trace elements in tissues of maternal and fetal individuals of cetaceans, diving mammals that are top level carnivores in the aquatic food chains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total and subcellular distribution of trace elements in the liver of a mother–fetus pair of Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli)

Jian¹,

Kunito²,

Anan³

et al. 2004

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Mercury and Selenium Levels at the Fetal and Suckling Stages of Striped Dolphin,Stenella coeruleoalba

Cited by 6 publications

References 8 publications

Concentrations of Selected Essential and Non-essential Elements in Blood of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pups of the German North Sea

Concentrations of Selected Essential and Non-essential Elements in Blood of Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pups of the German North Sea

Biological factors affecting variability of persistent pollutant levels in cetaceans

Total and subcellular distribution of trace elements in the liver of a mother–fetus pair of Dall's porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli)

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