Concentrations of some legacy pollutants have increased in South Australian bottlenose dolphins from 1989 to 2014

Liesbeth Weijs; Adrian Covaci; Gavin Stevenson; Catherine Kemper; Ikuko Tomo; Frederic Leusch

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2020.109834

Concentrations of some legacy pollutants have increased in South Australian bottlenose dolphins from 1989 to 2014

Environ Res. 2020 Oct:189:109834. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109834. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

Authors

Liesbeth Weijs¹, Adrian Covaci², Gavin Stevenson³, Catherine Kemper⁴, Ikuko Tomo⁴, Frederic Leusch⁵

Affiliations

¹ Australian Rivers Institute (ARI), School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland, 4222, Australia. Electronic address: l.weijs@griffith.edu.au.
² Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, Wilrijk, 2610, Belgium.
³ Australian Ultra Trace Laboratory, National Measurement Institute, 105 Delhi Rd, North Ryde, New South Wales, 2113, Australia.
⁴ South Australian Museum, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000, Australia.
⁵ Australian Rivers Institute (ARI), School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Gold Coast Campus, Queensland, 4222, Australia.

PMID: 32721651
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109834

Abstract

Information about pollution and its potential impact in Australian marine wildlife is scarce. To fill this knowledge gap, our study investigated concentrations of legacy pollutants as well as naturally produced methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) in blubber, liver, kidney and muscle of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) from two large inverse estuaries in South Australia from 1989 to 1995 and 2009-2014. Our results show that concentrations of most pollutant classes are relatively low compared to the literature but at the higher end of the ranges reported for marine mammals in Australia. Results for some individuals exceed toxicity thresholds indicative of immunotoxicity in marine mammals. It is important to note that concentrations of some compound classes, particularly PBDEs and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), increased over a time interval of 20 years thereby placing more individuals at risk in recent years. Some of the highest concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured in juveniles, which may jeopardize their development and the success of future generations. These results indicate that legacy pollutants may play a role in the long-term health of T. aduncus and should be included in biomonitoring efforts.

Keywords: Age; Australia; Bottlenose dolphins; MeO-PBDEs; POPs; Temporal trends; Tissue distribution.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Australia
Bottle-Nosed Dolphin*
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollutants*
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / analysis
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / toxicity
Humans
Polychlorinated Biphenyls* / analysis
South Australia
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / toxicity

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Polychlorinated Biphenyls