Levels and trends of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins from the Pearl River Estuary (2012–2017)

Gui, Duan; Zhang, Lingli; Zhan, Fengping; Liu, Wen; Yu, Xinjian; Chen, Laiguo; Wu, Yuping

Levels and trends of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins from the Pearl River Estuary (2012–2017)

2018

We investigated the levels and trends of the 16 USEPA priority PAHs in the blubber of 37 Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins sampled during the period 2012–2017 from the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), China. Σ16PAHs concentrations (17.6–6080 ng g−1 wet weight) were at median level compared to dolphin species worldwide. Humpback dolphins affiliated with the hotspots of PAHs, had significantly higher levels of Σ16PAHs than individuals from the other areas in the PRE. Moreover, dolphins stranded on the coast of Lingdingyang are significantly more contaminated by Σ16PAHs than those in the West-four region of the PRE, which appears to reflect the heterogeneous distribution of PAHs in the environment. A marked decline in blubber Σ16PAHs levels is observed over the studied period, with the control of a range of confounding factors. The trend is strongly and statistically significant (p < 0.0001), indicating that the loading of PAHs are gradually being reduced.

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