Hello,

We are excited to share a new publication on a wild (and endangered) population of killer whales sampled near Washington state.  "Pre-oil spill baseline profiling for contaminants in Southern Resident killer whales fecal samples indicates possible exposure to vessel exhaust" will appear in the November 2018 issue of Marine Pollution Bulletin.

The article is available at the link below.  The abstract follows the link.  Thank you for your interest!  

The Southern Resident killer whale population (Orcinus orca) was listed as endangered in 2005 and shows little sign of recovery. Exposure to contaminants and risk of an oil spill are identified threats. Previous studies on contaminants have largely focused on legacy pollutants. Here we measure polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in whale fecal (scat) samples. PAHs are a diverse group of hazardous compounds (e.g., carcinogenic, mutagenic), and are a component of crude and refined oil as well as motor exhaust. The central finding from this study indicates low concentrations of the measured PAHs (< 10 ppb, wet weight), as expected; however, PAHs were as high as 104 ppb prior to implementation of guidelines mandating increased distance between vessels and whales. While causality is unclear, the potential PAH exposure from vessels warrants continued monitoring.  Historical precedent similarly emphasizes the importance of having pre-oil spill exposure data available as baseline to guide remediation goals.