Blubber samples from Alaska ringed seal (Phoca hispida) were collected for inclusion in the US National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank, as well as for immediate analysis as part of the contaminant monitoring component of the US National Marine Fisheries Service's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. The blubber samples were analyzed for organochlorine (OC) contaminants (e.g., PCB congeners, pesticides, DDTs). Results for ringed seals from the Alaska Arctic revealed low blubber concentrations of OC contaminants. Differences in contaminant concentrations among the Alaska seals may be explained by differences in feeding habits and migratory patterns; age or gender did not appear to account for the differences observed. The integration of real-time contaminant monitoring with specimen banking provides important baseline data that can be used to plan and manage banking activities. This includes identifying appropriate specimens that are useful in assessing temporal trends and increasing the utility of the banked samples in assessing chemical contaminant accumulation and relationships to biological effects.
Blubber samples from ringed seals, bearded seals, harbor seals and Northern fur seals. Ringed seals (length, age estimated, blubber thickness, blubber samples) at all sites.
ringed seals (length, age estimated, blubber thickness, blubber samples) at all sites 1.5 miles west of Sledge Island (64.4800° N, 166.2600° W) 10 miles south of Nome (64.3543° N, 165.9992° W) Barrow (71.3333° N, 56.7000° W) Chukchi Sea, Barrow, UIC-NARL A (71.3167° N, 156.8333° W) Chukchi Sea, Barrow, UIC-NARL B (71.3667° N, 156.6167° W) Nome, 3 miles S of Cape Nome (64.3000° N, 156.0000° W) Nome, 4 miles S of Solety? S. (64.3167° N, 164.7333° W) Nome, 4 miles SW of Cape Nome (64.3167° N, 165.2500° W) just off the end of Port Nome (64.4931° N, 165.3984° W) Sledge Island; Nome (64.4850° N, 166.2031° W)
The specimen bank is maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the US National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank (NBSB) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. This bank includes samples from the contiguous 48 states and also samples collected from Alaska as part of the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (AMMTAP), which is sponsored by the National Biological Service and managed under the MMHSRP. In light of the substantial increase in human activities in Alaska, the AMMTAP was initiated to establish a representative collection of Alaska marine mammal tissues to document long-term trends in environmental quality (Becker, P.R., Koster, B.J., Wise, S.A. and Zeisler, R. 1993. Biological specimen banking in Arctic research: an Alaska perspective. Sci. Total Environ 139/140:69-95.)
Duplicate blubber samples from ringed seal were collected for both specimen banking and immediate analyses. Blubber samples were analyzed for OCs and percent lipid following standard methods and quality assurance protocols (Krahn et al., 1988; Sloan et al., 1993). Briefly, samples of thawed tissue (1.0 to 3.0 g) were extracted, macerated with sodium sulfate and methylene chloride and then the methylene chloride extract was filtered through a column of silica gel and alumina and concentrated for further cleanup; the analytical method was slightly modified for the lipid-rich tissue of marine mammals. Size exclusion chromatography with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to separate lipids and other biogenic material from a fraction containing the OCs. The OC fraction was analyzed by capillary column gas chromatography (GC) equipped with an electron capture detector (ECD). Identification of selected individual OCs was confirmed using GC-mass spectrometry. Krahn, M.M., Moore, L.K., Bogar, R.G., Wigren, C.A., Chan, S.-L. and Brown, D.W. 1988. High-performance liquid chromatographic method for isolating organic contaminants from tissue and sediment extracts. J. Chromatogr. 437:161-175. Sloan, C.A., Adams, N.G., Pearce, R.W., Brown, D.W. and Chan, S.-L. 1993. Northwest Fisheries Science Center Organic Analytical Procedures. pp. 53-96. In: G.G. Lauenstein and A.Y. Cantillo (eds.) Sampling and analytical methods of the National Status and Trends Program: National Benthic Surveillance and Mussel Watch Projects 1984-1992. NOAA Coastal Monitoring and Bioeffects Assessment Division, Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment, National Ocean Service, Silver Spring, Maryland. 1993pp.
Blubber samples were analyzed for OCs and percent lipid following standard methods and quality assurance protocols (Krahn et al., 1988; Sloan et al., 1993). Quality assurance procedures included analyses of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standard reference materials (NIST SRM 1945), a NIST whale blubber control material, certified calibration standards, method blanks, solvent blanks and replicate samples and analytical results met laboratory criteria. In addition, our laboratory participates in NIST and other Quality Assurance Intercomparison Exercises each year. References: Krahn, M.M., Moore, L.K., Bogar, R.G., Wigren, C.A., Chan, S.-L. and Brown, D.W. 1988. High-performance liquid chromatographic method for isolating organic contaminants from tissue and sediment extracts. J. Chromatogr. 437:161-175. Sloan, C.A., Adams, N.G., Pearce, R.W., Brown, D.W. and Chan, S.-L. 1993. Northwest Fisheries Science Center Organic Analytical Procedures. pp. 53-96. In: G.G. Lauenstein and A.Y. Cantillo (eds.) Sampling and analytical methods of the National Status and Trends Program: National Benthic Surveillance and Mussel Watch Projects 1984-1992. NOAA Coastal Monitoring and Bioeffects Assessment Division, Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment, National Ocean Service, Silver Spring, Maryland. 1993pp.
Charleston Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 219 Fort Johnson Road, Charleston, SC 29412, USA. Department of Wildlife Management, North Slope Borough, Barrow, AK, USA.
The animals were collected by indigenous subsistence hunters.
Study also included data from harbor seals, Northern fur seals and bearded seals.