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Accumulation patterns of heavy metals and chlorinated hydrocarbons by sea otters, Enhydra lutris, in California. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5512625
Chemical contaminants and naturally occurring toxic compounds in the coastal ecosystem of California currently inhabited by sea otters, Enhydra lutris, do not appear to have, or have had, any effect on the status of the population. Ratios of pups to adults appear to be within the expected ranges and do not indicate any depressed productivity that might be caused by one or a combination of environmental toxicants. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), however, which cause nearly complete reproductive failures when fed at levels as low as 0.6 ppm in another member of the family Mustelidae, the mink, Mustela vison, were present in livers of a number of animals at higher levels than those associated with reproductive failure in mink. An interspecific difference in sensitivity, or relatively lower amounts of the more toxic PCB compounds in the sea otter population, is indicated. A decline in PCB (and DDE) levels along the California coast recorded in mussels, Mytilus californianus, and the ending of PCB uses reduce any potential threat to the otter population from PCB contamination.
Research Organization:
California Univ., Santa Cruz, CA (USA). Inst. of Marine Sciences
OSTI ID:
5512625
Report Number(s):
PB-89-230551/XAB
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English