Persistent Organic Pollutant Determination in Killer Whale Scat Samples: Optimization of a Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Method and Application to Field Samples

Lundin, Jessica I.; Dills, Russell L.; Ylitalo, Gina M.; Hanson, M. Bradley; Emmons, Candice K.; Schorr, Gregory S.; Ahmad, Jacqui; Hempelmann, Jennifer A.; Parsons, Kim M.; Wasser, Samuel K.

doi:10.1007/s00244-015-0218-8

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Lundin et al [8,50] showed that POPs, namely PCBs, DDTs, and PBDEs, increase in circulation in SRKWs when Fraser River Chinook abundance is lowest, presumably due to increased fat metabolism in response to nutritional stress. Mobilization of contaminants into circulation also occurs during the energetic demands of lactation, with an estimated 70–90% lactation transfer of maternal toxicant burden in primiparous females [51].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population growth is limited by nutritional impacts on pregnancy success in endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca)

Wasser¹,

Lundin²,

Ayres³

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

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127

107

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The Southern Resident killer whale population (Orcinus orca) was listed as endangered in 2005 and shows little sign of recovery. These fish eating whales feed primarily on endangered Chinook salmon. Population growth is constrained by low offspring production for the number of reproductive females in the population. Lack of prey, increased toxins and vessel disturbance have been listed as potential causes of the whale’s decline, but partitioning these pressures has been difficult. We validated and applied temporal measures of progesterone and testosterone metabolites to assess occurrence, stage and health of pregnancy from genotyped killer whale feces collected using detection dogs. Thyroid and glucocorticoid hormone metabolites were measured from these same samples to assess physiological stress. These methods enabled us to assess pregnancy occurrence and failure as well as how pregnancy success was temporally impacted by nutritional and other stressors, between 2008 and 2014. Up to 69% of all detectable pregnancies were unsuccessful; of these, up to 33% failed relatively late in gestation or immediately post-partum, when the cost is especially high. Low availability of Chinook salmon appears to be an important stressor among these fish-eating whales as well as a significant cause of late pregnancy failure, including unobserved perinatal loss. However, release of lipophilic toxicants during fat metabolism in the nutritionally deprived animals may also provide a contributor to these cumulative effects. Results point to the importance of promoting Chinook salmon recovery to enhance population growth of Southern Resident killer whales. The physiological measures used in this study can also be used to monitor the success of actions aimed at promoting adaptive management of this important apex predator to the Pacific Northwest.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population growth is limited by nutritional impacts on pregnancy success in endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca)

Wasser¹,

Lundin²,

Ayres³

et al. 2017

PLoS ONE

Self Cite

127

107

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Aziz et al, 2017;Quinn et al,2019;Schmidt et al, 2020;Schultz et al,2018). Scat samples in particular can be useful for assessing the health of individuals and populations, as they offer a range of other information, including data on parasite and pathogen presence (Bergner et al, 2019;Cristescu et al, 2019;Weese et al, 2019), diet composition (e.g., via quantitative PCR or DNA metabarcoding - Iversen et al, 2013;Nelms et al, 2019;Ogurtsov, 2018), hormone profiles (Morden et al, 2011;Vynne et al, 2012), and contaminant loads (Lundin et al, 2015(Lundin et al, , 2016.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genotyping‐in‐thousands by sequencing (GT‐seq) of noninvasive faecal and degraded samples: A new panel to enable ongoing monitoring of Canadian polar bear populations

Clemente-Carvalho¹,

Jensen

Groot

et al. 2022

Molecular Ecology Resources

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Genetic monitoring using noninvasive samples provides a complement or alternative to traditional population monitoring methods. However, next-generation sequencing approaches to monitoring typically require high quality DNA and the use of noninvasive samples (e.g., scat) is often challenged by poor DNA quality and contamination by nontarget species. One promising solution is a highly multiplexed sequencing approach called genotyping-in-thousands by sequencing (GT-seq), which can enable cost-efficient genomics-based monitoring for populations based on noninvasively collected samples. Here, we develop and validate a GT-seq panel of 324 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) optimized for genotyping of polar bears based on DNA from noninvasively collected faecal samples. We demonstrate (1) successful GT-seq genotyping of DNA from a range of sample sources, including successful genotyping (>50% loci) of 62.9% of noninvasively collected faecal samples determined to contain polar bear DNA; and (2) that we can reliably differentiate individuals, ascertain sex, assess relatedness, and resolve population structure of Canadian polar bear subpopulations based on a GT-seq panel of 324 SNPs. Our GT-seq data reveal spatial-genetic patterns similar to previous polar bear studies but at lesser cost per sample and through use of noninvasively collected samples, indicating the potential of this approach for population monitoring. This GT-seq panel provides the foundation for a noninvasive toolkit for polar bear monitoring and can contribute to community-based programmes -a framework which may serve as a model for wildlife conservation and management for species worldwide.

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“…Only a few studies have been completed that document the presence of contaminants in CIB at levels higher than other Alaskan beluga stocks for some contaminant congeners and temporal increases over time for others (Becker et al, 2000;Krahn et al, 2009;Reiner et al, 2011;Hoguet et al, 2013). Pollution is documented as an important factor in two of the three surrogate populations, SLB and SRKW (Lachmuth et al, 2011;Mongillo et al, 2012;Lundin et al, 2015Lundin et al, , 2016. There is a large number of records for both SLB and SRKW populations, n = 44 and n = 25, respectively, that address consequences of pollution such as disease and reproductive failure (e.g., Wasser et al, 2017;Bernier-Graveline et al, 2021).…”

Section: Threats: Pollution (Low)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Systematic Review Demonstrates How Surrogate Populations Help Inform Conservation and Management of an Endangered Species—The Case of Cook Inlet, Alaska Belugas

Norman¹,

Dreiss²,

Niederman³

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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The genetically and geographically isolated Cook Inlet beluga whale (CIB) was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2008 and a federal recovery plan was adopted in 2016. Despite these measures, the population has failed to make demonstrable progress toward recovery. Data and knowledge gaps exist, as well as high uncertainty in the recovery plan, regarding the impact and severity of identified threats on CIB health and recovery, particularly for threats driven by anthropogenic factors, and cumulative effects. These data deficiencies may hinder threat prioritization and conservation and management actions. Odontocete populations in similarly ecologically precarious situations may serve as research surrogates to help fill information gaps and guide future CIB research and conservation. Through a systematic review of CIB and selected surrogate species [St. Lawrence beluga (SLB), Hector’s dolphins (HD), and southern resident killer whales (SRKW)], we identify gaps associated with threats described and ranked in the CIB recovery plan. All threats identified by the National Marine Fisheries Services as “high”-concern to CIB recovery, except noise, are lower in publication volume compared to publications related to high concern threats in SLB and SRKW. “Medium” or “low” threats to CIB, such as prey reduction and contaminants, respectively, are identified as higher priority threats in surrogate populations. These topics have been more heavily researched for surrogates and suggests that synthesis of this work may help reduce uncertainty, to aid in informing management actions for CIB. Specifically, publishing volume suggests SLB and SRKW are valuable surrogates for understanding the impacts of noise, prey, and contaminants. Publishing volume is necessary to choose a surrogate, but is not sufficient. Surrogates were chosen based on physiological similarities to CIB as well as their comparable management situations. Therefore, these lower-ranked threats should be ranked more highly and researched specifically in regard to CIB. We use this review to offer management recommendations based on current CIB and surrogate literature regarding listed threats in the CIB recovery plan. Our analyses suggest that CIB may benefit from a revision to and elevation of some low and medium-concern threats such as contaminants, habitat degradation, and prey reduction.

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Persistent Organic Pollutant Determination in Killer Whale Scat Samples: Optimization of a Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Method and Application to Field Samples

Cited by 14 publications

References 39 publications

Population growth is limited by nutritional impacts on pregnancy success in endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca)

Population growth is limited by nutritional impacts on pregnancy success in endangered Southern Resident killer whales (Orcinus orca)

Genotyping‐in‐thousands by sequencing (GT‐seq) of noninvasive faecal and degraded samples: A new panel to enable ongoing monitoring of Canadian polar bear populations

A Systematic Review Demonstrates How Surrogate Populations Help Inform Conservation and Management of an Endangered Species—The Case of Cook Inlet, Alaska Belugas

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