Risk-Benefit Assessment of Monomethylmercury and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake for Ringed Seal Consumption with Particular Emphasis on Vulnerable Populations in the Western Canadian Arctic.

Many northern Inuit communities rely on traditional food as major source of nourishment. An essential part of the traditional Arctic diet is marine mammals such as ringed seals or beluga. Being top predators, these animals are often highly contaminated with various toxins. In contrast, some tissues of marine mammals are also characterized by high amounts of n3-PUFAs (omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids). Here, we try to balance the risks associated with the consumption of different tissue types of ringed seals in terms of the neurotoxin monomethylmercury (MMHg) with the benefits of consumption due to high n3-PUFA concentrations. Fetuses are at the highest risk of neurological impairments because MMHg can easily cross the placental barrier. Therefore, women of childbearing age served as an indicator population for especially susceptible subpopulations. We calculated maximal weekly maternal portions sizes if mutual consumption of muscle and blubber tissue or liver and blubber tissue was assumed. Those weekly portion sizes resulted in an estimated overall IQ point gain of infants of 0, whereas the consumption of liver or muscle tissue without blubber could lead to an IQ loss. In contrast to former studies, our data do not generally prohibit the consumption of liver tissue. Instead, our results suggest that a maximal weekly consumption of 125 g liver tissue together with 1 g of blubber tissue is acceptable and does not lead to neurological damages in the long term. Similarly, the consumption of maximal 172 g muscle tissue can be balanced by the mutual consumption of 1 g blubber tissue.

Partitioning and kinetics of methylmercury among organs in captive mink (Neovison vison): A stable isotope tracer study.

Despite the importance of methylmercury (MeHg) as a neurotoxin, we have relatively few good data on partitioning and kinetics of MeHg among organs, particularly across the blood-brain barrier, for mammals that consume large quantities of fish. The objective of this study was to determine the partition coefficients between blood and brain, liver and kidney and fur for MeHg under steady-state conditions and to measure the half-lives for MeHg in these organs. Captive mink (Neovison vison) were fed a diet enriched with two stable isotopes of Hg, Me(199)Hg and Me(201)Hg for a period of 60 days. After a period of 10 days the diet was changed to contain only Me(201)Hg so that, between days 10 and 60, we were able to measure both uptake and elimination rates from blood, brain, liver kidney and fur. Liver and kidney response was very rapid, closely following changes in blood concentrations but there was a small lag time between peak blood concentrations and peak brain concentrations. Half-lives for MeHg were 15.4, 10.2 and 13.4 days for brain, liver and kidney, respectively. There was no measurable conversion of the MeHg to inorganic Hg (IHg) in the brain over the 60 day period, unlike in liver and kidney.

Lactational Transfer of Polychlorinated-Biphenyls (PCBs) and Other Organochlorines in St. Lawrence Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas).

This study uses an individual-based contaminant bioaccumulation model for marine mammals to explore factors controlling the transfer of PCBs from mother to calf via nursing in beluga from the St. Lawrence Estuary. Beluga blubber samples (n = 46), along with four matched milk samples from stranded animals over the 1986-1994 period were used for comparison with modelled results. Based on 68 POPs, including 48 PCBs and 20 other organochlorine compounds, milk:blubber ratios were 0.65 between log K OW 3-6.5, then decreased to 0.1 at log K OW 8. Model simulations based on this relationship indicated females were transferring PCBs that were relatively very hydrophobic and highly chlorinated less readily than their lower chlorinated counterparts, resulting in an enriched concentration of very hydrophobic congeners in nursing females relative to adult males. There was very good agreement between observed and modelled male:female PCB concentration ratios. Four females within our dataset (15 %) had male-like ΣPCB concentrations as well as male-like congener profiles, suggesting that these individuals may have had a reduced or limited nursing history.

Methylmercury accumulation and elimination in mink (Neovison vison) hair and blood: results of a controlled feeding experiment using stable isotope tracers.

Concentrations of metals in hair are used often to develop pharmacokinetic models for both animals and humans. Although data on uptake are available, elimination kinetics are less well understood; stable isotope tracers provide an excellent tool for measuring uptake and elimination kinetics. In the present study, methylmercury concentrations through time were measured in the hair and blood of mink (Neovison vison) during a controlled 60-d feeding experiment. Thirty-four mink were fed a standard fish-based diet for 14 d, at the end of which (day 0), 4 mink were sacrificed to determine baseline methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations. From day 0 to day 10, the remaining mink were fed a diet consisting of the base diet supplemented with 0.513 ± 0.013 µg Me(199) Hg/g and 0.163 ± 0.003 µg Me(201) Hg/g. From day 10 to day 60, mink were fed the base diet supplemented with 0.175 ± 0.024 µg Me(201) Hg/g. Animals were sacrificed periodically to determine accumulation of Me(201) Hg in blood and hair over the entire 60-d period and the elimination of Me(199) Hg over the last 50 d. Hair samples, collected from each mink and cut into 2.0-mm lengths, indicate that both isotopes of MeHg appeared in the hair closest to the skin at approximately day 10, with concentrations in the hair reaching steady state from day 39 onward. The elimination rate of Me(199) Hg from the blood was 0.05/d, and the ratio of MeHg in the hair to blood was 119. A large fraction of MeHg (22% to >100%) was stored in the hair, suggesting that in fur-bearing mammals the hair is a major route of elimination of MeHg from the body.

Modeling PCB-bioaccumulation in the Bottlenose Dolphin ( Tursiops truncatus ): estimating a dietary threshold concentration.

An individually based (IB) model to predict PCB concentrations in the bottlenose dolphin population of Charleston, SC, USA, was developed with the aim to gain a better understanding of the bioaccumulation behavior and health risk of dietary PCBs across the population and their prey. PCB concentrations predicted in male and female bottlenose dolphin were in good agreement with observed tissue concentrations corroborating the reliability of the model performance and its utility in gaining a more complete view of risk. The modeled cumulative distribution of ΣPCB concentrations for the population with a breakdown into juvenile, adult male, and female subclasses ranged from 3600 to 144,400 ng/g lipid with 66% to >80% of the population exceeding the established threshold for adverse health effects of 17,000 ng/g lipid. The model estimated that a dietary PCB concentration not exceeding 5.1 ng/g wet wt would be required to reach a condition where 95% of the population would have tissue levels below the health effect threshold. The IB model for PCBs in bottlenose dolphins provides a novel approach to estimating the maximum acceptable dietary concentration for PCBs, a central and important factor to protect these apex predators. The model also enables effective prediction of concentrations in dolphins from fish contaminant surveys which are logistically easier and less costly to collect.

Mercury biomagnification in marine zooplankton food webs in Hudson Bay.

While much research has been carried out on mercury in large marine mammals and associated food webs in northern regions, comparatively less has been conducted on lower trophic levels including zooplankton and the subsequent transfer to predators, which marks the entry of mercury into northern marine food webs. We present here the first database for mercury uptake and transfer exclusively within zooplankton food webs in northern marine waters. We have investigated both total (THg) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentrations, and isotopic signatures (δ(15)N and δ(13)C) in individual zooplankton taxa collected over a period of eight years (2003-2010) from across Hudson Bay (including Hudson Strait and Foxe Basin) as part of research icebreaker cruises. δ(15)N values ranged from 3.4 to 14.0‰, implying trophic levels ranging from 1 to 4, and THg concentrations ranged from 5 to 242 ng g(-1) dw. Food web linkages were identified within the data set, and mercury biomagnification was evident both with THg and MMHg concentrations increasing from prey to predator, and with trophic magnification factors (TMFs). Total mercury and MMHg transfer in a unique prey-predator linkage (Limacina helicina-Clione limacina) are investigated and discussed with regard to known physiological and biochemical characteristics. The results suggest that exposure to mercury at higher trophic levels including humans can be affected by processes at the bottom of Arctic marine food webs.

Habitat-based PCB environmental quality criteria for the protection of endangered killer whales (Orcinus orca).

The development of an area-based polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) food-web bioaccumulation model enabled a critical evaluation of the efficacy of sediment quality criteria and prey tissue residue guidelines in protecting fish-eating resident killer whales of British Columbia and adjacent waters. Model-predicted and observed PCB concentrations in resident killer whales and Chinook salmon were in good agreement, supporting the model's application for risk assessment and criteria development. Model application shows that PCB concentrations in the sediments from the resident killer whale's Critical Habitats and entire foraging range leads to PCB concentrations in most killer whales that exceed PCB toxicity threshold concentrations reported for marine mammals. Results further indicate that current PCB sediment quality and prey tissue residue criteria for fish-eating wildlife are not protective of killer whales and are not appropriate for assessing risks of PCB-contaminated sediments to high trophic level biota. We present a novel methodology for deriving sediment quality criteria and tissue residue guidelines that protect biota of high trophic levels under various PCB management scenarios. PCB concentrations in sediments and in prey that are deemed protective of resident killer whale health are much lower than current criteria values, underscoring the extreme vulnerability of high trophic level marine mammals to persistent and bioaccumulative contaminants.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca) face protracted health risks associated with lifetime exposure to PCBs.

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations declined rapidly in environmental compartments and most biota following implementation of regulations in the 1970s. However, the metabolic recalcitrance of PCBs may delay responses to such declines in large, long-lived species, such as the endangered and highly PCB-contaminated resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) of the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. To investigate the influence of life history on PCB-related health risks, we developed models to estimate PCB concentrations in killer whales during the period from 1930 forward to 2030, both within a lifetime (approximately 50 years) and across generations, and then evaluated these in the context of health effects thresholds established for marine mammals. Modeled PCB concentrations in killer whales responded slowly to changes in loadings to the environment as evidenced by slower accumulation and lower magnitude increases in PCB concentrations relative to prey, and a delayed decline that was particularly evident in adult males. Since PCBs attained peak levels well above the effects threshold (17 mg/kg lipid) in approximately 1969, estimated concentrations in both the northern and the more contaminated southern resident populations have declined gradually. Projections suggest that the northern resident population could largely fall below the threshold concentration by 2030 while the endangered southern residents may not do so until at least 2063. Long-lived aquatic mammals are therefore not protected from PCBs by current dietary residue guidelines.

Development and application of bioaccumulation models to assess persistent organic pollutant temporal trends in arctic ringed seal (Phoca hispida) populations.

Individual- and population-based models were developed to simulate the bioaccumulation of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) over the lifetime of ringed seals (Phoca hispida) and account for the effects of age, growth, body condition and sex (including gestation, birth and lactation). Lactational transfer was described using a milk to blubber partition coefficient, which was shown to be a function of Kow (KMB=1/(1.676+1.293.10(-7).Kow) r2=0.60, n=32, p<0.001). Simulations showed that nursing mothers could transfer between 5% and 40% of their burden of low and high KMB contaminants, respectively, to their milk over 40 days of lactation. The models were calibrated using a POPs dataset for 50 seals (29 males, 21 females) from Arviat, Nunavut. They were initially calibrated for a group of eight highly recalcitrant PCB congeners (e.g. PCBs 153, 180) assuming a baseline elimination rate (ke) of about 0.03 year-1. For congeners more prone to biotransformation a satisfactory fit could only be reached by iteratively increasing ke to values ranging from 0.05 to 2.5 year-1 for PCBs 187 and 18, respectively; thus the models became a means for estimating ke. Estimated ke values were correlated with a calculated index of susceptibility to biotransformation (ke=0.0284/Rrelr2=0.98, n=20, p<0.001). This relationship was used to estimate ke values used in simulations to hind-cast temporal trends of SigmaPCB, SigmaDDT, SigmaCHL, alphaHCH, betaHCH in ringed seal populations and to predict potential future trends. Results of these simulations showed good agreement with measured concentrations in seals from two locations in the Canadian Arctic (Holman Island, NWT and Arctic Bay, Nunavut) collected between 1972 and 2001. The models show that the combined effects of rapid juvenile growth, a fast rate of population turnover and substantial capacity to eliminate many POPs result in fairly rapid responses to changes in contaminant loading, thus making ringed seals an effective choice for monitoring spatial and temporal trends of POPs in the Arctic marine ecosystem.