Persistent organic pollutants in blood plasma of satellite‐tracked adult male loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta)

Abstract

Risks from persistent organic pollutants (POPs) remain largely a mystery for threatened loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). The present study examines regional-scale POP differences in blood plasma from adult male C. caretta based on movement patterns. Turtles were captured near Port Canaveral, Florida, USA, in April of 2006 and 2007 and fitted with satellite transmitters as part of a National Marine Fisheries Service-funded project. Residents (n = 9) remained near the capture site, whereas transients (n = 10) migrated northward, becoming established in areas largely from south of Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, to north of Cape May, New Jersey, USA. Blood was sampled from the dorsocervical sinus of each turtle and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and toxaphenes. Blood plasma concentrations of OCPs and total PBDEs were elevated in transients (p < 0.05) and in some cases were correlated with turtle size. Migratory adults showed an atypical PBDE congener profile relative to other published studies on wildlife, with PBDE 154 being the dominant congener. Additionally, PCB congener patterns differed between groups, with total PCBs slightly elevated in transients. This supports the idea that foraging location can influence exposure to, and patterns of, POPs in highly mobile species such as C. caretta. Understanding patterns of contamination informs wildlife managers about possible health risks to certain subpopulations. The present study is the first to examine POPs in the rarely studied adult male sea turtle and to couple contaminant measurements with satellite tracking.

Assignment of nesting loggerhead turtles to their foraging areas in the Northwest Atlantic using stable isotopes

“…Recent research revealed that adult loggerheads using northern foraging grounds in the MAB have higher concentrations of organic pollutants than turtles that use waters off central Florida, and our results support the hypothesis that this may be due to spatial structuring of foraging grounds by population (Ragland et al 2011). Similarly, a recent study found that loggerhead eggs laid in a northern nesting beach in North Carolina had higher organic concentration of pollutants than eggs laid in southern nesting beaches in Florida (Alava et al 2011).…”

Distribution of foraging habitats of male loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) as revealed by stable isotopes and satellite telemetry

“…4B), but does not necessarily support a latitudinal eVect on coastal waters from equator to polar regions because 15 N of primary producers slowly decreases at latitudes north of the Delaware estuary (McKinney et al 2010). The probable human inXuence revealed in the 15 N signatures of males in northern waters corresponds with the elevated concentrations of persistent organic pollutants recently found in the same male loggerheads (Ragland et al 2011).…”

“…Changes through time in the relative composition of individuals from a particular foraging ground observed in a breeding area may provide evidence of threats to which turtles are exposed (Hatase et al 2002;Zbinden et al 2011). For example, in the NWA, turtles using northern foraging grounds are at a higher risk of sublethal toxic eVects from high concentrations of organic pollutants than are southern foragers (Ragland et al 2011).…”

Determinação de pesticidas organoclorados em tecidos de tartarugas-verdes (Chelonia mydas) provenientes da costa sudeste do Brasil: estudo da ocorrência em animais com e sem fibropapilomatose

“…No presente estudo, puderam-se observar correlações nas concentrações de OCs nos tecidos adiposo e hepático conforme descritas por Keller et al (2004a) (RAGLAND et al, 2011). No entanto, é provável que a tendência da diminuição das concentrações não se deva unicamente ao fenômeno de diluição, mas também ao tamanho amostral (KELLER et al, 2004b).…”

“…Os resultados obtidos com amostras sanguíneas refletem uma exposição recente a toxinas (LABRADA-MARTAGÓN et al, 2011). Por esse motivo, alguns estudos como, por exemplo, os realizados em matrizes como sangue ou ovos (SWARTHOUT et al, 2010;KOMOROSKE et al, 2011;LABRADA-MARTAGÓN et al, 2011;RAGLAND et al, 2011;IKONOMOPOULOU;WHITTIER, 2012) (KELLER et al, 2004b). Desta maneira, os resultados obtidos no presente estudo devem ser interpretados com cuidado, pois algumas amostras vieram de animais encalhados, às vezes em condições corporais pobres e desconhecendo-se a data exata e causa do óbito.…”