engleski

Organochlorine contaminant levels in tissues of a short-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, from the northern Adriatic Sea

We analyzed 17 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 7 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in blubber, liver, muscle, lung, heart and kidney of an adult male short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) found dead stranded on the island of Cres (Croatia) in 2004. The PCB profile was dominated by hexachlorobiphenyls (39.4 – 63.2% of SPCB), with PCB-153 exhibiting the highest concentrations across all tissues. The pattern of PCB tissue distribution (SPCB) showed the highest burdens in blubber >> liver > kidney > heart > muscle > lung, which were positively correlated with tissue lipid content (rs = 0.986, p < 0.01). Among OCPs, HCB and SDDT exhibited the same distribution between tissues, correlated with the tissue lipids (rs = 0.985 and 0.986, respectively, p < 0.01). Total HCHs showed highest levels in muscle > blubber > liver > kidney > lung > heart, with no correlation to tissue lipid content (p > 0.05). Total DDTs were lower than total PCB levels for all tissues, with SPCB/SDDTs ratios ranging from 1.3 in blubber to 5.9 in muscles. Blubber OC burdens recorded in our specimen were among the highest found in a dolphin in the Mediterranean after the year 2000. This result and the presence of mono-ortho substituted PCBs with dioxin- like toxicity in all our samples may present an additional factor of concern for the conservation of regional dolphin populations.

cetaceans; common dolphin; PCB congeners; organochlorine pesticides; Adriatic Sea; Mediterranean Sea

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