Tissue distribution of organic contaminants in stranded pregnant sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) from the Huizhou coast of the South China Sea

Fengping Zhan; Xinjian Yu; Xiyang Zhang; Laiguo Chen; Xian Sun; Ri-Qing Yu; Yuping Wu

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.05.005

Tissue distribution of organic contaminants in stranded pregnant sperm whale (Physeter microcephalus) from the Huizhou coast of the South China Sea

Mar Pollut Bull. 2019 Jul:144:181-188. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.05.005. Epub 2019 May 16.

Authors

Fengping Zhan¹, Xinjian Yu¹, Xiyang Zhang¹, Laiguo Chen², Xian Sun³, Ri-Qing Yu⁴, Yuping Wu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Southern Laboratory of Ocean Science and Engineering (Guangdong, Zhuhai), Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
² Urban Environment and Ecology Research Center, South China Institute of Environmental Sciences (SCIES), Ministry of Environmental Protection, Guangzhou, 510655, China.
³ Southern Laboratory of Ocean Science and Engineering (Guangdong, Zhuhai), Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. Electronic address: sunx27@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
⁴ Department of Biology, University of Texas at Tyler, Tyler, TX 75799, USA.
⁵ Southern Laboratory of Ocean Science and Engineering (Guangdong, Zhuhai), Zhuhai Key Laboratory of Marine Bioresources and Environment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China. Electronic address: exwyp@mail.sysu.edu.cn.

PMID: 31179986
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.05.005

Abstract

Twelve persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured in 11 tissue samples from a pregnant sperm whale stranded on the Huizhou coast of the South China Sea, China, in March 2017. POPs were found to be more concentrated in the irrigated tissues such as placenta, ovary, mammary gland, and liver than the less irrigated tissues such as epidermis. High POP levels detected in the placenta might result in abnormal hormone secretion in the placenta, which would affect the unborn offspring. We hypothesized that ovary is potentially vulnerable to the exposure of higher contaminant levels. The PAH concentrations were higher in the lung than in other tissues, which suggest that PAH levels in the lung were breath-dependent in the sperm whale. The concentrations of POPs except PAHs in the sperm whale blubber were lower than those in the same species in the Northern Hemisphere and were comparable to or lower than those in the same species in the Southern Hemisphere.

Keywords: Organochlorine pesticides; PAHs; PCBs; Physeter macrocephalus; Sperm whale; Tissue distribution.

MeSH terms

Adipose Tissue / chemistry
Animals
China
Environmental Monitoring / methods*
Female
Organ Specificity
Placenta / chemistry*
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / analysis*
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / pharmacokinetics
Pregnancy
Sperm Whale / metabolism*
Tissue Distribution
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / pharmacokinetics

Substances

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Water Pollutants, Chemical