PERSISTENT ORGANOCHLORINES IN STELLER SEA LION (EUMETOPIAS-JUBATUS) FROM THE BULK OF ALASKA AND THE BERING SEA, 1976-1981

Organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were de termined in the blubber and liver of Steller sea lion collected from t he bulk of Alaska and the Russian :Bering Sea, PCBs were the predomina nt organochlorines in the blubber, ranging in concentration from 5.7 t o 41 mu g g(-1) (lipid weight) in males and from 0.57 to 16 mu g g(-1) in females. Concentrations of DDTs (DDT and its metabolites) in the b lubber ranged from 2.8 to 17 mu g g(-1) in males and from 0.19 to 6.5 mu g g(-1) in females, The levels of chlordane compounds (CHLs) and he xachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) were one to three orders of magnitude lowe r than those of PCBs and DDTs. The residue levels of PCBs, DDTs and CH Ls in males increased with age, whereas in females they decreased shar ply after maturity, suggesting the transfer of organochlorines in larg e quantities during lactation. Transfer rate of organochlorines throug h lactation was estimated to be 80% for PCBs and 79% for DDTs of the t otal body of adult female. Concentrations of organochlorines in the li ver of the Steller sea lion from Alaska, on a lipid weight basis, were similar to those in the Blubber, In addition, liver showed age-depend ent accumulation of PCBs, DDTs and CHLs, similar to that in the Blubbe r. The concentrations of all the organochlorines detected in the liver were clearly correlated with those in the blubber, indicating the lip ophilic nature of organochlorines in accumulation and movement in the animal body, Residue levels of PCBs and DDTs in the liver of male Stel ler sea lions from the Bering Sea were significantly lower than those from Alaska, suggesting that Bering Sea animals have different foragin g areas from the animals of the bulk of Alaska. Copyright (C) 1996 Els evier Science Ltd