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Organohalogen Contaminants and Vitamins in Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) Collected During Subsistence Hunts in Alaska

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Abstract

During native subsistence hunts from 1987 to 2007, blubber and liver samples from 50 subadult male northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus) were collected on St. Paul Island, Alaska. Samples were analyzed for legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs), recently phased-out/current-use POPs, and vitamins. The legacy POPs measured from blubber samples included polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, DDT (and its metabolites), chlorobenzenes, chlordanes, and mirex. Recently phased-out/current-use POPs included in the blubber analysis were the flame retardants, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, and hexabromocyclododecanes. The chemical surfactants, perfluorinated alkyl acids, and vitamins A and E were assessed in the liver samples. Overall, concentrations of legacy POPs are similar to levels seen in seal samples from other areas of the North Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea. Statistically significant correlations were seen between compounds with similar functions (pesticides, flame retardants, vitamins). With sample collection spanning two decades, the temporal trends in the concentrations of POPs and vitamins were assessed. For these animals, the concentrations of the legacy POPs tend to decrease or stay the same with sampling year; however, the concentrations of the current-use POPs increased with sampling year. Vitamin concentrations tended to stay the same across the sampling years. With the population of northern fur seals from St. Paul Island on the decline, a detailed assessment of exposure to contaminants and the correlations with vitamins fills a critical gap for identifying potential population risk factors that might be associated with health effects.

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Acknowledgments

The following are acknowledged for their support of AMMTAP work at St. Paul Island over the years: the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (Phillip A. Zavadil, Aquilina D. Lestenkof, Pamela Lestenkof, Pat Kozloff, and Darleen Melovidov) and the National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Regional Office (Mike Williams and Steve Zimmerman). A special acknowledgment goes to Terry Spraker, Colorado State University, who provided special aid at St. Paul Island in obtaining all of the specimens used in this study. The collection and banking of NFS specimens was supported by funding from United States Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service, United States Geological Survey Biological Resources Division, and National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Protected Resource’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program National Marine Mammal Tissue Bank (Teresa K. Rowles, program manager). M. Gribble was supported by a T32 training grant from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (Grant No. T32ES013678-07).

Disclaimer

Certain commercial equipment, instruments, or materials are identified in this article to adequately specify the experimental procedure. Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the NIST, nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical Sciences Division, Hollings Marine Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Charleston, SC, 29412, USA

    Jessica L. Reiner, Paul R. Becker, Jennifer M. Lynch, Amanda J. Moors, Jennifer Ness, Danielle Peterson, Rebecca S. Pugh, Jody Rhoderick, Jennifer Trevillian & John R. Kucklick

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA

    Matthew O. Gribble

  3. Department of Chemistry, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Tamika Ragland

  4. Chemical Sciences Division, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899, USA

    Catherine Rimmer & Michele M. Schantz

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  1. Jessica L. Reiner
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Correspondence to Jessica L. Reiner.

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Reiner, J.L., Becker, P.R., Gribble, M.O. et al. Organohalogen Contaminants and Vitamins in Northern Fur Seals (Callorhinus ursinus) Collected During Subsistence Hunts in Alaska. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 70, 96–105 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0179-y

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