scholarly journals North Pacific Baleen Whales as a Potential Source of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) in the Diet of the Indigenous Peoples of the Eastern Arctic Coasts

Toxics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Chukmasov ◽  
Andrey Aksenov ◽  
Tatiana Sorokina ◽  
Yulia Varakina ◽  
Nikita Sobolev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
Organic Pollutant ◽  
Baleen Whales ◽  
Bowhead Whales ◽  
The North ◽  
Edible Tissues ◽  
High Concentrations

Among marine mammals, gray and bowhead whales contain large amounts of fat and thereby constitute crucial dietary components of the traditional diet of indigenous peoples of the Eastern Arctic. Despite the high nutritional and cultural value of gray and bowhead whales, there is a risk of persistent organic pollutant (POP) intake by indigenous individuals who use marine mammals as their main source of fat. POPs are lipophilic pollutants and are known to accumulate and magnify along the marine food web. Consumption of foods contaminated by POPs can perturb the endocrine, reproductive, and immune systems, and can potentially cause cancer. Moderate to relatively high concentrations of POPs have indeed been reported in the edible tissues of gray and bowhead whales consumed by indigenous peoples of the North Pacific Ocean. Even though their consumption is potentially harmful, there is no regular monitoring of eco-toxicants in the foods consumed by the indigenous peoples of the Eastern Arctic. In our view, the routine analyses of consumable parts of whales and of comparable nutritional items need to be included in the Russian Arctic Biomonitoring Programme.

Kīlauea lava fuels phytoplankton bloom in the North Pacific Ocean

Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 365 (6457) ◽  
pp. 1040-1044 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samuel T. Wilson ◽  
Nicholas J. Hawco ◽  
E. Virginia Armbrust ◽  
Benedetto Barone ◽  
Karin M. Björkman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Phytoplankton Bloom ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
Biological Response ◽  
Molecular Evidence ◽  
North Pacific Subtropical Gyre ◽  
The North ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
The North Pacific

From June to August 2018, the eruption of Kīlauea volcano on the island of Hawai‘i injected millions of cubic meters of molten lava into the nutrient-poor waters of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. The lava-impacted seawater was characterized by high concentrations of metals and nutrients that stimulated phytoplankton growth, resulting in an extensive plume of chlorophyll a that was detectable by satellite. Chemical and molecular evidence revealed that this biological response hinged on unexpectedly high concentrations of nitrate, despite the negligible quantities of nitrogen in basaltic lava. We hypothesize that the high nitrate was caused by buoyant plumes of nutrient-rich deep waters created by the substantial input of lava into the ocean. This large-scale ocean fertilization was therefore a unique perturbation event that revealed how marine ecosystems respond to exogenous inputs of nutrients.

Trophic relationships of albatrosses associated with squid and large-mesh drift-net fisheries in the North Pacific Ocean

1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-562 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Gould ◽  
Peggy Ostrom ◽  
William Walker
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Trophic Level ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
Transitional Zone ◽  
Trophic Relationships ◽  
Commercial Fishing ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Pacific

The diets of Laysan (Diomedea immutabilis) and black-footed albatrosses (D. nigripes) killed in squid and large-mesh drift nets in the transitional zone of the North Pacific Ocean were investigated by examining the contents of the digestive tracts and determining δ13C and δ15N values in breast-muscle tissue. The results show that (i) the combined prey of the two species of albatross consists of over 46 species of marine organisms including coelenterates, arthropods, mollusks, fish, and marine mammals; (ii) both species supplement their traditional diets with food made available by commercial fishing operations (e.g., net-caught squid and offal); (iii) while obtained from drift nets, diets of nonbreeding Laysan and black-footed albatrosses are dominated by neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartrami); (iv) in the absence of drift-net-related food, Laysan albatrosses feed most heavily on fish and black-footed albatrosses feed most heavily on squid; and (v) based on δ15N values, nonbreeding adult Laysan albatrosses from the transitional zone of the North Pacific Ocean and Laysan albatross nestlings fed by adults from Midway Island in the subtropical Pacific feed at one trophic level and one-third of a trophic level lower than black-footed albatrosses, respectively.

scholarly journals Viral emergence in marine mammals in the North Pacific may be linked to Arctic sea ice reduction

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. VanWormer ◽  
J. A. K. Mazet ◽  
A. Hall ◽  
V. A. Gill ◽  
P. L. Boveng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
Arctic Sea Ice ◽  
Sea Ice Extent ◽  
The North ◽  
Arctic Sea ◽  
The North Pacific

Abstract Climate change-driven alterations in Arctic environments can influence habitat availability, species distributions and interactions, and the breeding, foraging, and health of marine mammals. Phocine distemper virus (PDV), which has caused extensive mortality in Atlantic seals, was confirmed in sea otters in the North Pacific Ocean in 2004, raising the question of whether reductions in sea ice could increase contact between Arctic and sub-Arctic marine mammals and lead to viral transmission across the Arctic Ocean. Using data on PDV exposure and infection and animal movement in sympatric seal, sea lion, and sea otter species sampled in the North Pacific Ocean from 2001–2016, we investigated the timing of PDV introduction, risk factors associated with PDV emergence, and patterns of transmission following introduction. We identified widespread exposure to and infection with PDV across the North Pacific Ocean beginning in 2003 with a second peak of PDV exposure and infection in 2009; viral transmission across sympatric marine mammal species; and association of PDV exposure and infection with reductions in Arctic sea ice extent. Peaks of PDV exposure and infection following 2003 may reflect additional viral introductions among the diverse marine mammals in the North Pacific Ocean linked to change in Arctic sea ice extent.

Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law

1992 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 792-810
Author(s):  
Marian Nash
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Ocean ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Marine Mammals ◽  
Pacific Salmon ◽  
North Pacific Ocean ◽  
The United States ◽  
Anadromous Fish ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Pacific ◽  
High Seas

On May 19, 1992, President George Bush transmitted to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean, with Annex, signed at Moscow on February 11, 1992. An accompanying report by Secretary of State James A. Baker III, dated May 14, 1992, stated, in major part: The Convention has as its centerpiece a prohibition on high seas fishing for Pacific salmon, which will protect valuable migrating U.S.-origin salmonids. It also establishes a new international organization to promote the conservation of anadromous stocks (primarily Pacific salmon) throughout their migratory range in the high seas area of the North Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas, as well as ecologically related species that interact with these resources, including various marine mammals, seabirds, and non-anadromous fish species. The new organization, which is to be known as the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, will also serve as a needed venue for consultation and coordination of high seas fishery enforcement activities by the contracting parties.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document