Details:

Journal Title:
Marine Environmental Research
Personal Author:
Fire, Spencer E. ; Leighfield, Tod A. ; Miller, Glenn A. ; Piwetz, Sarah ; Sabater, Edna R. ; ... More +
Fire, Spencer E. ; Leighfield, Tod A. ; Miller, Glenn A. ; Piwetz, Sarah ; Sabater, Edna R. ; Whitehead, Heidi Less -
NOAA Program & Office:
NOAA General Documents
Description:
Harmful algal blooms produced by the phytoplankton species Karenia brevis and its associated neurotoxin, brevetoxin (PbTx), occur throughout the Gulf of Mexico and have had devastating impacts on co-occurring populations of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), an important marine sentinel species. The majority of documented impacts, however, are from the eastern Gulf of Mexico, with a critical lack of information on the degree and frequency of PbTx exposure in bottlenose dolphins from Texas coastal waters. This study documents PbTx exposure in Texas bottlenose dolphins between 2007 and 2017 and their association with co-occurring K. brevis blooms. PbTx was detected in 60% (n = 112) of the animals tested. Liver tissue samples had the highest frequency of detection (62%), followed by feces (41.4%) and gastric contents (30.4%). PbTx was not detected in urine or intestinal tissue. The concentration ranges of PbTx detected in feces (1.2–216, mean 38.4 ng/g), gastric contents (3.3–1016, mean 158 ng/g) and liver (0.6–52.4, mean 8.5 ng/g) samples were an order of magnitude less than values reported for Florida dolphins for the same sample types. The proportion of dolphins recovered within 4 weeks of a bloom that tested positive for PbTx (‘Bloom’ group; 75%) was significantly higher compared to those that were recovered 5–8 weeks after termination of a bloom (‘Post-Bloom’ group; 36%; p = 0.004). The proportion of PbTx-positive animals with no observed bloom association (‘Baseline’ group; 60%) was also significantly greater than the Post-Bloom group (p = 0.012). No significant difference in proportion of PbTx-positive animals was detected between Bloom and Baseline groups (p = 0.242). No significant differences in liver PbTx concentrations were observed between any pairwise combinations of the 3 exposure groups (p = 0.261). Overall, these findings suggest persistent PbTx exposure for many individuals in these populations, although the health impacts of such exposure are not known.
Keywords:
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Aquatic Science General Medicine Oceanography Pollution
Source:
Marine Environmental Research, 162, 105191
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105191
ISSN:
0141-1136
Format:
PDF
Publisher:
Elsevier BV
Document Type:
Journal Article
Rights Information:
Accepted Manuscript
Compliance:
Library
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:1f8b098e3000d6e1847c9581eca62fc55dd713df0803adb58b2da080e4d4d22f
Download URL:
https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/57546/noaa_57546_DS1.pdf
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