I. Objectives: I.1. To determine the normal range of values (natural variability due to time of year, age, gender) for basic nutritional and health parameters (blubber characteristics, essential and non-essential elements, structure of basic tissues) in the bowhead whale. a. Blubber thickness (depth and girth), chemical composition (lipids, water, calories), and tissue structure (light microscopy and special stains) will be assessed. b. Essential and non-essential elements (heavy metals) will be measured in liver and kidney. c. Tissue structure (light microscopy) characteristics obviously related to nutritional status in liver (glycogen, lipid and lipofuscin stores), pancreas (zymogen granules), and intestine (mucosal microvilli) and any evidence of inactivity/atrophy will be examined. d. Documentation of "normal" structure of basic tissues and evaluation for evidence of disease will also be conducted. I.2. Using data from Objective 1 to identify the parameters most important in assaying the health status of other mysticetes residing in the Bering Sea or Western Arctic that are harvested or stranded. I.3. Using data from Objective 1 to help determine the role of the bowhead whale as an indicator of ecosystem health and development of an optimized protocol for assessing mysticete health for the Bering Sea and Western Arctic, and other regions.
1. Liver and kidney analyzed for Zn, Co, Ag, Cu, Mg, Pb, Mo, Mn, A, & Se 2. Blubber analyzed for organochlorines (OCs),including dioxin-like chlorobiphenyls (CBs), DDT and DDT metabolites (e.g., DDEs, DDDs), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) by a rapid high-performance liquid chromatography photodiode array (HPLC/PDA). 3. Blubber analyzed for chemical composition (i.e., percent lipid, water, etc); lipid content and proportions of lipid classes, including wax esters, triglycerides, free fatty acids, cholesterol and phospholipids analyzed using thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID). 4. Light microscopy, including routine histological evaluation of tissues and special stains; an intensive assessment of blubber microscopic anatomy.
Bowhead whales subsistence-harvested at Barrow, Alaska
Some samples banked by the Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (AMMTAP)
Blubber chemical composition and OC analysis at Environmental Conservation Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 2725 Montlake Blvd. E., Seattle WA. Blubber samples analyzed for both lipid content and proportions of lipid classes, including wax esters, triglycerides, free fatty acids, cholesterol and phospholipids, using thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID) (Shantha 1992). Metals analysis via atomic absorption spectophotometry (AAS) at Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University (TAMU), College Station, Texas
Environmental Conservation Division, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, 2725 Montlake Blvd. E., Seattle WA Department of Veterinary Anatomy and Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Texas A&M University (TAMU), College Station, Texas
Bowhead whales subsistence-harvested at Barrow, Alaska
Human and chemical ecology of Arctic pathways by marine pollutants