Profiles of fecal porphyrins in river otters following the Exxon Valdez oil spill

Median levels of Coproporphyrin III (Copro III) in fecal samples of river o tters (Lontra canadensis) collected from an oiled area in Prince William So und, Alaska, USA, during 1990 were significantly higher than in samples col lected from the same oiled area during 1996 (p = 0.011, one way analysis of variance), a nonoiled reference area in Prince William Sound during 1996 ( p = 0.002) and a reference area in southeast Alaska during 1998 (p = 0.004) , An overall test of significance that combined probabilities from the stat istical analysis of this porphyrin study with those from other biomarker st udies revealed a significant difference in physiological response of river otters between oiled and nonoiled areas of the Sound for 1990 (p < 0.01), W e demonstrated that changes in levels of fecal porphyrins may serve as a bi omarker that may contribute to a health assessment of wild river otters. (C ) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.