Organohalogen compounds in blubber of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin ( Tursiops aduncus) and spinner dolphin ( Stenella longirostris) from Zanzibar, Tanzania

• Published in: Environmental pollution (1987) 2010-06, Vol.158 (6), p.2200-2207
• Main Authors: Mwevura, Haji, Amir, Omar A., Kishimba, Michael, Berggren, Per, Kylin, Henrik
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adipose Tissue - chemistry; Adipose Tissue - metabolism; Animal Ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biologi; Biological and medical sciences; Biology; blubber; Body Burden; Bottle-Nosed Dolphin - metabolism; calves; Cell and molecular biology; Cell- och molekylärbiologi; Concentration (composition); DDT (pesticide); Dolphins; Ecology; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Ekologi; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Sciences; Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use; Ethers; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; HCH (pesticide); Hydrocarbons, Halogenated - analysis; Hydrocarbons, Halogenated - pharmacokinetics; lindane; Male; Mammalia; Marine; Maternal transfer; MeO-BDEs; Methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers; Miljö- och naturvårdsvetenskap; Miljövetenskap; NATURAL SCIENCES; NATURVETENSKAP; Organochlorine pesticides; Organohalogen compounds; Pesticides; Pollutants; Pollution abatement; polybrominated diphenyl ethers; polychlorinated biphenyls; Residues; Spinners; Stenella - metabolism; Stenella longirostris; Tanzania; Toxicology; Toxikologi; toxins; Tursiops aduncus; Tursiops truncatus; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - pharmacokinetics; zoologisk ekologi
• ISSN: 0269-7491; 1873-6424; 1873-6424
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2010.02.027

Blubber samples of Indo-Pacific bottlenose ( Tursiops aduncus) and spinner ( Stenella longirostris) dolphins from Zanzibar, East Africa, were analyzed for a wide range of organohalogen compounds. Methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-BDEs), presumably biogenic, were found at higher concentrations than anthropogenic organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Only traces of industrial pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, were detected. The OCP levels found off Zanzibar were lower than those reported from other regions while MeO-BDE levels were higher. The relative composition of the OCPs indicated recent use of lindane (γ-hexachlorocyclohexane) and aged residues of DDT and technical HCH. Placental transfer was estimated to 2.5% and 0.5% of the total burden of OCPs and MeO-BDEs, respectively. Overall transfer from mother to calf in Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins was estimated to 72% and 85% for the OCPs and MeO-BDEs burdens, respectively. Health effects of MeO-BDEs are not known, but structural similarities with well-known environmental toxins are cause for concern. Biogenic brominated organic compounds were found at higher concentrations than anthropogenic organochlorine pesticides in dolphins off Zanzibar.