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Poster (Scientific congresses and symposiums)
Trace metal variations in tissues of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) stranded along Southern North Sea coasts
Drouguet, Olivier; Jauniaux, Thierry; Holsbeek, Ludo et al.
200411th Benelux Congress of Zoology
 

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Keywords :
marine mammals; pollutants; trace elements; harbour seals; Phoca vitulina
Abstract :
[en] During the last decade, recurrent epizootics have affected harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) populations in the North Sea. The trace metal levels of the harbour seal in the Southern North Sea are poorly known. In this study, trace metal concentrations (Zn, Cu, Fe, Cd, Hg and Se) were measured in tissues (liver, kidney and muscle) of 72 harbour seals collected along the coasts of France, Belgium and Netherlands between 1994 and 2004. Hg levels were significantly higher in seals from the Southern North Sea than in seals from Norwegian waters (1) probably due to the amount of anthropogenic inputs in the North Sea. Hepatic Hg was positively correlated to hepatic Se, both increasing with the length of the seals. Such a relationship reflects an age accumulation process coupled to a detoxication mechanism involving antagonism between Hg and Se in the liver. Increasing Zn and Hg hepatic levels were observed with degrading body condition of the harbour seals, which is reflected by decreasing blubber thickness and high hepatic to total body mass ratio. Body condition was particularly poor in seals which died from infectious diseases. These observations tend to indicate a global redistribution of trace metals from muscle and blubber to liver, as a result of protein and lipid catabolism linked to disease and starvation.
Disciplines :
Aquatic sciences & oceanology
Environmental sciences & ecology
Author, co-author :
Drouguet, Olivier
Jauniaux, Thierry ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de morphologie et pathologie > Département de morphologie et pathologie
Holsbeek, Ludo
Reijnders, Peter
Siebert, Ursula
Das, Krishna  ;  Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences et gestion de l'environnement > Océanologie
Language :
English
Title :
Trace metal variations in tissues of harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) stranded along Southern North Sea coasts
Publication date :
2004
Event name :
11th Benelux Congress of Zoology
Event place :
Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
Event date :
5-7th May 2004
Audience :
International
Funders :
F.R.S.-FNRS - Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique [BE]
Available on ORBi :
since 22 September 2010

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