Body measurements and blood plasma lipid, PCB and OH-PCB content of polar bear (U. maritimus) mothers and cubs, Svalbard

The aim of this study was to examine the plasma concentrations and prevalence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and hydroxylated PCB-metabolites (OH-PCBs) in polar bear (Ursus maritimus) mothers (n = 26) and their 4 months old cubs-of-the-year (n = 38) from Svalbard to gain insight into the mother-cub transfer, biotransformation and to evaluate the health risk associated with the exposure to these contaminants. As samplings were performed in 1997/1998 and 2008, we further investigated the differences in levels and pattern of PCBs between the two sampling years. The plasma concentrations of Sum(21)PCBs (1997/1998: 5710 ± 3090 ng/g lipid weight [lw], 2008: 2560±1500 ng/g lw) and Sum(6)OH-PCBs (1997/1998: 228 ± 60 ng/g wet weight [ww], 2008: 80 ± 38 ng/g ww) in mothers were significantly lower in 2008 compared to in 1997/1998. In cubs, the plasma concentrations of Sum(21)PCBs (1997/1998: 14680 ± 5350 ng/g lw, 2008: 6070 ± 2590 ng/g lw) and Sum(6)OH-PCBs (1997/1998: 98 ± 23 ng/g ww, 2008: 49 ± 21 ng/g ww) were also significantly lower in 2008 than in 1997/1998. Sum(21)PCBs in cubs was 2.7 ± 0.7 times higher than in their mothers. This is due to a significant maternal transfer of these contaminants. In contrast, Sum(6)OH-PCBs in cubs were approximately 0.53 ± 0.16 times the concentration in their mothers. This indicates a lower maternal transfer of OH-PCBs compared to PCBs. The majority of the metabolite/precursor-ratios were lower in cubs compared to mothers. This may indicate that cubs have a lower endogenous capacity to biotransform PCBs to OH-PCBs than polar bear mothers. Exposure to PCBs and OH-PCBs is a potential health risk for polar bears, and the levels of PCBs and OH-PCBs in cubs from 2008 were still above levels associated with health effects in humans and wildlife.

Data and Resources

This dataset has no data

Cite this as

Bytingsvik, Jenny, Lie, Elisabeth, Aars, Jon, Derocher, Andrew E, Wiig, Øystein, Jenssen, Bjørn Munro (2012). Dataset: Body measurements and blood plasma lipid, PCB and OH-PCB content of polar bear (U. maritimus) mothers and cubs, Svalbard. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.808112

DOI retrieved: 2012

Additional Info

Field Value
Imported on November 30, 2024
Last update November 30, 2024
License CC-BY-3.0
Source https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.808112
Author Bytingsvik, Jenny
Given Name Jenny
Family Name Bytingsvik
More Authors
Lie, Elisabeth
Aars, Jon
Derocher, Andrew E
Wiig, Øystein
Jenssen, Bjørn Munro
Source Creation 2012
Publication Year 2012
Resource Type application/zip - filename: Bytingsvik_2012
Subject Areas
Name: Ecology

Related Identifiers
Title: PCBs and OH-PCBs in polar bear mother-cub pairs: A comparative plasma levels in 1998 and 2008
Identifier: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.12.033
Type: DOI
Relation: IsSupplementTo
Year: 2012
Source: Science of the Total Environment
Authors: Bytingsvik Jenny , Lie Elisabeth , Aars Jon , Derocher Andrew E , Wiig Øystein , Jenssen Bjørn Munro .