Organohalogen levels in harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups increase with duration of nursing.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Maternal transfer of persistent marine contaminants to offspring via milk has been documented in marine mammals, but temporal dynamics of this phenomenon throughout the lactation period are poorly understood. Exposures to organohalogens were investigated in harbor seal pups admitted to a rehabilitation center in north central California during the lactation periods of 2001 and 2002. Ten congeners of PCBs, three congeners of PBDEs, and p,p'-DDE were quantified in whole blood samples. Levels of contaminants increased with admit date, assumed to correlate positively with pup age. This trend was significant when latitude of stranding site, body condition, and body length were included as variables in the model. Contaminant-admit date relationships appeared nonlinear (i.e., threshold or exponential), with greatest increases in contaminant concentrations during late lactation.
منابع مشابه
Diving Related Changes in the Blood Oxygen Stores of Rehabilitating Harbor Seal Pups (Phoca vitulina)
Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups begin diving within hours of birth, stimulating the development of the blood oxygen (O2) stores necessary to sustain underwater aerobic metabolism. Since harbor seals experience a brief nursing period, the early-life development of these blood O2 stores is necessary for successful post-weaning foraging. If mothers and pups become prematurely separated, the pup ...
متن کاملUsefulness of serum cardiac troponin I concentration as a marker of survival of harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups during rehabilitation.
OBJECTIVE To measure serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations in orphaned harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups at various points during rehabilitation in a seal rescue center and determine whether cTnI concentration was associated with survival during rehabilitation and duration of rehabilitation. DESIGN Serial cross-sectional study. ANIMALS Fifty-five 2- to 9-day-old harbor seal pups. PROCE...
متن کاملCauses and Patterns of Harbor Seal (phoca Vitulina) Pup Mortality
Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina) are the most common and widely distributed pinniped in Washington State coastal waters. Serving as sentinels of marine ecosystem health, stranded animals are useful in detecting environmental disease and contaminant levels. From 2004 to 2010, we examined mortality rates and causes of death of Harbor Seal pups at Smith Island, a principal haulout site in the eastern...
متن کاملErythropoietin concentration in developing harbor seals (Phoca vitulina).
Tissue hypoxia elicits the production of erythropoietin (Epo), a hormone that stimulates red blood cell production. In young diving mammals, oxygen is stored primarily in the blood, and blood oxygen stores increase significantly during the first weeks of life. In an effort to establish the role of Epo during this period of blood development, this study measured Epo concentration in plasma of 13...
متن کاملForamen Ovale and Ductus Arteriosus Patency in Neonatal Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Pups in Rehabilitation
Twenty neonatal harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) pups in rehabilitation following maternal separation underwent serial echocardiographic studies to assess patency and subsequent age of functional closure of the ductus arteriosus (d.a.). B-mode, color-flow Doppler, and pulse and continuous wave Doppler were utilized to identify the d.a. and determine patency and directionality of blood flow. Seals w...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A
دوره 68 9 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2005