Organotins in marine mammals and seabirds from Norwegian territory

Abstract

An increasing number of studies indicate that marine mammals and some seabirds are exposed to organotins. However, results from northern and Arctic areas are few. Here results from analysis of tributyltin (TBT), dibutyltin (DBT), monobutyltin (MBT), triphenyltin (TPhT), diphenyltin (DPhT) and monophenyltin (MPhT) in harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), common seal (Phoca vitulina), ringed seal (Phoca hispida) and glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) from Norwegian territory are presented. Relatively high concentrations of DBT, TBT and MBT were observed in muscle, kidney and liver from harbour porpoises caught in northern Norway in 1988, just before restrictions on the use of tributyltin (TBT)(mainly on small boats) were introduced in several European countries. The concentrations in harbour porpoise muscle tissue were reduced significantly 11 years later, possibly as a result of the introduced restrictions. Considerably lower concentrations of butyltins were observed in the seals compared to porpoises. The lowest levels of organotins were found in ringed seals from Spitsbergen, where only traces of dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT) were observed. Traces of DBT and MBT were also found in some individual glaucous gulls from Bear Island. The sum of the degradation products MBT and DBT in liver samples from all analysed species were generally higher than TBT itself. Triphenyltin (TPhT) was observed in all porpoise samples and in livers of common seals. Also the sum of the degradation products MPhT and DPhT in liver samples from porpoise and common seals were higher than TPhT. No traces of phenyltins were found in ringed seals from Spitsbergen or in glaucous gulls from Bear Island. The limited data available indicate low to moderate exposure to organotins in northern areas (Spitsbergen and Bear Island). Marine mammals are however more exposed further south along the Norwegian Coast.

Occurrence of anthropogenic and naturally-produced organohalogenated compounds in tissues of Black Sea harbour porpoises

“…Lipid results from the present study were also comparable to those from other studies. Lipid percentages in porpoises analysed by Kannan et al (1993), Tanabe et al (1997a) and Berge et al (2004) fall, in general, well in the ranges reported in the present study. Duinker et al (1989) analyzed harbour porpoises from the North Sea between 1977 and 1979 and found percentages ranging from 1.4% to 6.7% for kidney, 5.3-13.9% for brain, 2.1-8.6% for liver, 0.5-7.9% for muscle and 54.2-93.5% for blubber.…”

Accumulation of butyltin compounds in finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) from Korean coast: Tracking the effectiveness of TBT regulation over time

“…The proportion of DBT to the total BTs in finless porpoises was similar to that observed for common dolphins (60 ± 12%) and minke whales (65 ± 23%) from Korean coastal waters (Choi et al, 2011b). The compositional distribution of BTs in our study was similar to those reported for the livers of porpoises from other countries (Berge et al, 2004;Strand et al, 2005;Nakayama et al, 2009). These findings suggest cetaceans metabolize BT compounds in a similar manner (Lee, 1991;Kannan et al, 1997).…”

“…To date, several studies have reported the accumulation of BTs and discussed the ecotoxicological implications of this accumulation in whales (Kannan et al, 1997;Kajiwara et al, 2006;Harino et al, 2007Harino et al, , 2008Choi et al, 2011b), dolphins (Kim et al, 1996;Kannan et al, 1997;Tanabe et al, 1998;Choi et al, 2011b), and porpoises (Berge et al, 2004;Ciesielski et al, 2004;Strand et al, 2005;Nakayama et al, 2009). However, little is known about temporal trends of BTs in cetaceans (Strand et al, 2005;Nakayama et al, 2009).…”

Sediment organic tin contamination promotes impoverishment of non-biting midge species communities in the Archipelago Sea, S-W Finland

“…In addition, an especially harmful feature of these compounds is that although they do not significantly bioconcentrate, they are transferred up and accumulate in the food chain to some degree owing to their lipophilic nature (Shawky and Emons 1998). Organic tin compounds are readily incorporated into the tissues of filter-feeding zooplankton, grazing invertebrates, and eventually accumulates in higher organisms such as fish, water birds and mammals (Berge et al 2004;Borghi and Porte 2002;Harino et al 2000;Ohji et al 2007). Several reported physiological effects on invertebrates, such as Dog-whelks (Nucella lapillus) and sea snails (Thais clavigera) exist at environmental conditions of a few ng/l (Gibbs and Bryan 1986;Horiguchi et al 1997), as well as effects, especially on the immune defence system, of fish and seals (Allner et al 2010;Frouin et al 2008).…”