Both elegant and fierce, killer whales are some of the oceans’ top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. Now, in the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers report the levels of legacy and emerging pollutants in 162 individuals’ blubber.
The animals’ diet, rather than location, greatly impacted contaminant levels and potential health risks — information that’s helpful to conservation efforts.Both elegant and fierce, killer whales are some of the oceans' top predators, but even they can be exposed to environmental pollution. Now, in the largest study to date on North Atlantic killer whales, researchers in ACS'report the levels of legacy and emerging pollutants in 162 individuals' blubber.
The researchers collected skin and blubber biopsies from over a hundred free-ranging killer whales, across the North Atlantic Ocean from Canada, Greenland, Iceland to Norway. They analyzed half of each tissue sample for five classes of POPs, including polychlorinated biphenyls . The other portion was used to evaluate the animals' diets. Multiple features stood out in the data:
PCB-associated health risks were highest for killer whales that ate primarily marine mammals, with most animals' levels exceeding the threshold for a higher risk of female reproductive failure.
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