Toxic compounds and health and reproductive effects in St. Lawrence Beluga Whales

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993 · Journal of Great Lakes Research; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0380-1330(93)71264-2· OSTI ID:7239657

Beland, P; Michaud, R ^[1]; DeGuise, S ^[2]; Girard, C; Lagace, A ^[3]; Martineau, D ^[4]; Muir, D C.G. ^[5]; Norstorm, R J ^[6]; Pelletier, E ^[7]; Ray, S ^[8]

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1. St. Lawrence National Inst. of Ecotoxicology, Montreal, Quebec (Canada)
2. St. Lawrence National Inst. of Ecotoxicology, Montreal, Quebec (Canada) Faculte de Medecine Veterinaire, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec (Canada)
3. Faculte de Medecine Veterinaire, St-Hyacinthe, Quebec (Canada)
4. St. Lawrence National Inst. of Ecotoxicology, Montreal, Quebec (Canada) Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY (United States)
5. Freshwater Inst., Winnipeg, Manitoba (Canada)
6. National Wildlife Research Center, Hull, Quebec (Canada)
7. INRS-Oceanologie, Rimouski, Quebec (Canada)
8. Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. John's, Newfoundland (Canada); and others

An epidemiologic study was carried out over a period of 9 years on an isolated population of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) residing in the St. Lawrence estuary (Quebec, Canada). More than 100 individual deaths were aged, and/or autopsied and analyzed for toxic compounds, and the population was surveyed for size and structure. Arctic belugas and other species of whales and seals from the St. Lawrence were used for comparison. Population dynamics: Population size appeared to be stable and modeling showed this stable pattern to result from low calf production and/or low survival to adulthood. Toxicology: St. Lawrence belugas had higher or much higher levels of mercury, lead, PCBs, DDT, Mirex, benzo[a]pyrene metabolites, equivalent levels of dioxins, furans, and PAH metabolites, and much lower levels of cadmium than Arctic belugas. In other St. Lawrence cetaceans, levels of PCBs and DDT were inversely related to body size, as resulting from differences in metabolic rate, diet, and trophic position, compounded by length of residence in the St. Lawrence basin. St. Lawrence belugas had much higher levels than predicted from body size alone; levels increased with age in both sexes, although unloading by females through the placenta and/or lactation was evidenced by overall lower levels in females and very high burdens in some calves. 45 refs., 4 figs., 5 tabs.

• OSTI ID: 7239657
• Journal Information: Journal of Great Lakes Research; (United States), Vol. 19:4; ISSN 0380-1330
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
CETACEANS
POPULATION DYNAMICS
REPRODUCTION
CARCINOGENS
ESTUARIES
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
HEALTH HAZARDS
METABOLITES
NEOPLASMS
PINNIPEDS
TOXIC MATERIALS
ANIMALS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
DATA
DISEASES
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HAZARDS
INFORMATION
MAMMALS
MATERIALS
NUMERICAL DATA
SURFACE WATERS
VERTEBRATES
540310* - Environment
Aquatic- Basic Studies- (1990-)
550900 - Pathology
560300 - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology