River otters as biomonitors for organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, and PBDEs in Illinois.

Carpenter, Samantha K.; Mateus-Pinilla, Nohra E.; Singh, Kuldeep; Lehner, Andreas; Satterthwaite-Phillips, Damian; Bluett, Robert D.; Rivera, Nelda A.; Novakofski, Jan E.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/111711 Copy

Description

Title

River otters as biomonitors for organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, and PBDEs in Illinois.

Author(s)

• Carpenter, Samantha K.
• Mateus-Pinilla, Nohra E.
• Singh, Kuldeep
• Lehner, Andreas
• Satterthwaite-Phillips, Damian
• Bluett, Robert D.
• Rivera, Nelda A.
• Novakofski, Jan E.

Issue Date

2013-10-10

Keyword(s)

• Lontra canadensis
• Organohalogenated compounds
• Dieldrin

Geographic Coverage

Illinois

Abstract

The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis) is a biomonitor for organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) associated with a wide range of deleterious health effects in wildlife and humans. We determined concentrations of twenty OHCs in livers of 23 river otters salvaged by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources from 2009 to 2011, determined sex-dependent distribution of OHCs, and compared our results to the reported concentrations of four OHCs in Illinois river otters from 1984 to 1989. Since these contaminants have been banned for over 30 years, we predicted smaller mean concentrations than those previously reported in Illinois otters. We detected eleven of twenty OHCs; PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dieldrin, and 4,4′-DDE (dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene) were present in the greatest mean concentrations. We report the largest mean concentration of dieldrin to date in the liver of North American river otters (mean: 174, range: 14.4–534 parts per billion wet wt [ppb]). Mean PCB concentrations were significantly higher in males (mean: 851; range: 30–3450 ppb) than females (mean: 282; range: 40–850 ppb; p=0.04). Mean concentrations of dieldrin were greater than those detected in otters from 1984 to 1989 (mean: 90; range: 30–130 ppb; p<0.05). Our results suggest OHC exposure remains a concern. Future research in Illinois should focus on evaluating OHCs exposures, particularly dieldrin, at the watershed level.

Publisher

Elsevier Inc.

Series/Report Name or Number

Ecotoxicology and environmental safety 100 (2014): 99-104.

Type of Resource

text

Language

en

Permalink

• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.07.028
• http://hdl.handle.net/2142/111711

Sponsor(s)/Grant Number(s)

• Thisproject was funded by the US Fish & Wildlife Service Federal Aid inWildlife Restoration Projects (W-146-R and W-167-R).
• The IllinoisNatural History Survey at the University of Illinois, Urbana–Champaign.

Copyright and License Information

Open access under CC BY license

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