Concentrations and accumulation patterns of organochlorine contaminants in the blubber of harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, from the coast of Newfoundland, the Gulf of St Lawrence and the Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine.

Concentrations of 99 organochlorine compounds were measured in the blubber of 196 harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, killed in commercial gill net fisheries in the western North Atlantic. PCBs and chlorinated bornanes (CHB) were the dominant contaminants in all porpoises. Mean concentrations (with standard deviations) of PCBs and CHBs from the three regions were as follows: Bay of Fundy/Gulf of Maine, PCB males 17.3 +/- 11.2 microg/g, PCB females 11.4 +/- 4.8 microg/g, CHB males 11.5 +/- 6.6 microg/g, CHB females 8.4 +/- 5.3 microg/g; Gulf of St Lawrence, PCB males 10.6 +/- 5.4 microg/g, PCB females 7.2 +/- 3.9 microg/g, CHB males 14.1 +/- 8.8 microg/g, CHB females 9.0 +/- 6.3 microg/g; southeast Newfoundland, PCB males 5.2 +/- 2.5 microg/g, PCB females 5.5 +/- 4.4 microg/g, CHB males 7.0 +/- 2.2 microg/g, CHB females 5.5 +/- 3.0 microg/g. The relative composition of the major contaminant groups found in male and female harbour porpoise blubber from the three locations varied. In order of decreasing concentration, porpoises from Fundy/Maine had PCBs > CHB > DDT > chlordanes (CHL), whereas Gulf of St Lawrence and Newfoundland porpoises had CHB > PCB > DDT > CHL. Significant increases with age were observed for most contaminants in male harbour porpoises, and significant decreases were observed in females. Females lose about 15% of their contaminant burden per birth. PCB and DDT levels in porpoises from the Bay of Fundy are significantly lower than those recorded in the 1970s.

Stratification and age-related differences in blubber fatty acids of the male harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena).

Fatty acid composition of blubber was determined at four body sites of 19 male harbour porpoises. A total of 65 fatty acids were quantified in each sample. The array of fatty acids contained in harbour porpoise blubber was similar to those found in other marine mammals. While chemical composition of total blubber was uniform over the body, with the exception of the caudal peduncle, vertical stratification was evident between the deep (inner) and superficial (outer) blubber layers. Fatty acids with chain lengths shorter than 18 carbons were present in significantly greater amounts in the outer blubber layer, while the longer-chain unsaturated fatty acids were more prevalent in the inner layer. This distribution suggests that the inner blubber layer is more active metabolically than the outer layer in terms of lipid deposition and mobilization. The degree of stratification between the two layers appears to increase with age, indicating a predictable turnover in the blubber layer of male porpoises. Harbour porpoise blubber contained high levels (2-27%) of isovaleric acid in the outer blubber layer, and these levels were positively correlated with age.

Organochlorine levels in North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) blubber.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), total DDT (DDT + DDE + DDD), dieldrin, heptachlor epoxide, chlordanes, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were found in blubber biopsies from endangered North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Bay of Fundy and on Browns-Baccaro Banks. Analyses included four sex and age class composite samples from 1988, and 21 individual samples from 1989. Generally, PCBs demonstrated the highest wet weight residue levels (up to 1.9 micrograms/g), followed by total DDT (DDT + DDE + DDD) (trace to 0.47 micrograms/g). Relatively low residue levels in adult females suggest that transmammary organochlorine (OC) residue transfer occurs during lactation. The actual blubber residue loads may have been underestimated, because the samples were taken when the whales were depositing fat reserves and the samples may not have been representative of the remainder of the blubber.

Functional anatomy of the heart of the harbor porpoise, Phocaena phocaena.

Thirty-six harbor porpoises, Phocaena phocaena, were caught off the coast of Southern New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as part of a study of the biology and ecology of these animals. The formalin-preserved heart was examined first in situ, then measured and studied in detail. If the weight of the thick layer of blubber is discounted, the heart is heavy relative to the total body weight as may be expected in an animal capable of fast swimming, great agility and frequent emergence from the water to breathe. The shape of the heart, the relative size of atria and atrial appendages, the morphology of the ventricular septum, the thickness of the walls of the sinus and conus of the right ventricle and the anatomy of the pulmonary veins were found to be constant for this animal and unlike that of non-cetaceans. It is suggested that the absence of respiratory movements during diving may lead to these modifications of cardiac structure in an animal that is particularly well adapted to a totally aquatic existence.