Persistent Organic Pollutants in British Columbia Grizzly Bears:  Consequence of Divergent Diets

Abstract

A new method for chemical fingerprinting of petroleum biomakers is described. The method consists of GC-MS analysis, preprocessing of GC-MS chromatograms, and principal component analysis (PCA) of selected regions. The preprocessing consists of baseline removal by derivatization, normalization, and alignment using correlation optimized warping. The method was applied to chromatograms of m/z 217 (tricyclic and tetracyclic steranes) of oil spill samples and source oils. Oil spill samples collected from the coastal environment in the weeks after the Baltic Carrier oil spill were clustered in principal components 1 to 4 with oil samples from the tank of the Baltic Carrier (source oil). The discriminative power of PCA was enhanced by deselecting the most uncertain variables or scaling them according to their uncertainty, using a weighted least squares criterion. The four principal components were interpreted as follows: boiling point range (PC1), clay content (PC2), carbon number distribution of sterols in the source rock (PC3), and thermal maturity of the oil (PC4). In summary, the method allows for analyses of chromatograms using a fast and objective procedure and with more comprehensive data usage compared to other fingerprinting methods.

Geographic variation of persistent organic pollutant levels in humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) feeding areas of the North Pacific and North Atlantic

“…Contaminant intake in marine mammals occurs primarily through food [42]. Divergent diet was shown to have profound effects on POP concentrations and patterns in grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) [43]. Similarly, differences in contaminant concentrations, patterns, and ratios have helped to elucidate diet composition of the three eastern North Pacific killer whale (Orcinus orca) ecotypes [37,44].…”

Trophodynamics of inorganic pollutants in a wide-range feeder: The relevance of dietary inputs and biomagnification in the Yellow-legged gull (Larus michahellis)

“…In this sense, top predators are often suggested as ideal biomonitoring candidates as they integrate pollutant levels along food chains (Becker, 2003;Burger and Gochfeld, 2004;Cabana and Rasmussen, 1994;McIntyre and Beauchamp, 2007). Since contaminant emissions are not spatially uniform, top predators also become helpful integrators of the spatial distribution of pollutants, as many species have vast breeding ranges, are able to move freely at large scales and some of them even exploit resources ascribed to different ecosystems (Braune et al, 2005;Christensen et al, 2005;Hobson et al, 2004;Ricca et al, 2008;Roscales et al, 2010). However, there is a marked variability in these factors affecting the dynamics of contaminants throughout foodweb (i.e.…”

Characterization of maternal transfer of decabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-209) administered to pregnant Sprague–Dawley rats

“…BDE-209 is also present in biota including fish [7] and birds [8]. It has been demonstrated that bioaccumula-tion of BDE-209 occurred in terrestrial predators such as red fox [9] and British Columbia grizzly bears [10], and marine animals such as harbor seals [11]. Furthermore, BDE-209 has been detected in human blood and breast milk [12].…”