Use of chemical tracers to assess diet and persistent organic pollutants in Antarctic Type C killer whales

Autor:	Robert L. Pitman, Douglas G. Burrows, Margaret M. Krahn, David P. Herman, Ronald W. Pearce
Rok vydání:	2008
Předmět:	Pollutant education.field_of_study Persistent organic pollutant Ecology Whale Stable isotope ratio Population Cetacea Aquatic Science Biology biology.organism_classification Predation Isotopes of carbon biology.animal education Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics
Zdroj:	Marine Mammal Science. 24:643-663
ISSN:	1748-7692 0824-0469
Popis:	Measuring chemical tracers in tissues of marine predators provides insight into the prey consumed and the predator's contaminant exposure. In this study, samples from Type C killer whales {Orcinus area) biopsied in Antarctica were analyzed for chemical tracers (i.e., stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen, fatty acids, and persistent organic pollutants [POPs]). Profiles of these individual tracers were very different from those of killer whale populations that have been studied in the eastern North and eastern Tropical Pacific. For example, δ 13 C and δ 15 N stable isotope values and most POP concentrations were significantly lower in the Antarctic population. In addition, multivariate statistical analyses of both fatty acid and POP profiles found distinctly different patterns for Antarctic Type C whales compared to those from whales in the other populations. Similar assays were conducted on four species of Antarctic marine fish considered potential prey for Type C killer whales. Results were consistent with a diet of fish for Type C whales, but other species (e.g., low trophic-level marine mammals or penguins) could not be eliminated as supplemental prey.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz:	https://explore.openaire.eu/search/publication?articleId=doi_________::2accce4ffc3c7e98cf1c4d4136dcb5ae https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-7692.2008.00213.x Zobrazit plný text záznamu Plný text