碩士 / 國立高雄科技大學 / 海洋環境工程系 / 107 / Cetaceans are considered apex predators in oceans, and this reflects the effect of natural and human activities on the marine ecosystem. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) metabolites are synthetic organic compounds that alongside inorganic heavy metal are applied extensively in industry and agriculture. Because of their long half-life, high toxicity, and bioaccumulative properties, they can accumulate in the bodies of high-level predators through food chains. This study investigated muscle and liver samples from one Balaenoptera edeni and seven Neophocaena phocaenoides caught accidentally in Taiwan. Regarding their total organochlorine compounds concentrations, their total DDT metabolites and PCBs concentrations were 27.3–477 and ≤150 μg/kg, respectively. Notably, the NP5 finless porpoise contained the highest DDT metabolites and PCBs concentrations of all the samples. The DDT metabolites and PCBs concentrations in the muscle tissues of the porpoises were highly negatively correlated with the porpoises’ body sizes. When the PCBs concentration was lower than 60 μg/kg, it was highly positively correlated with the toxicity of the substance. The heavy metal variety and concentration were both higher in the liver tissues than in the muscle tissues. Zinc was identified in the muscle and liver tissues of the cetacean samples even though no trace of chromium or lead was detected. The nickel and zinc concentrations in the muscle tissues of the porpoises were highly to significantly positively correlated with the porpoises’ body sizes, whereas the copper and zinc concentrations in the liver tissues of the cetaceans were highly negatively correlated with the cetaceans’ body sizes.
The bioaccumulation of organic and inorganic pollutants in the muscles and livers of Balaenoptera edeni and Neophocaena phocaenoides reflects the indirect effect of marine pollution on these cetaceans. The DDT metabolites detection rate in all cetaceans was 100%; the PCBs concentration in Neophocaena phocaenoides was higher than that in Balaenoptera edeni; a wide variety of heavy metals was detected in the livers of pregnant Neophocaena phocaenoides. Each type of pollutant accumulated in cetaceans is unique in terms of its correlation with cetacean body size, and some studies even found a negative correlation between the two variables. Few studies have investigated the significance of organic and inorganic pollutants accumulated in cetaceans in Taiwan, which was the primary focus of this study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TW/107NKUS0282003 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | CHAN, SHIH-YING, 詹詩瑩 |
| Contributors | CHEN, CHIU-YUN, 陳秋雲 |
| Source Sets | National Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations in Taiwan |
| Language | zh-TW |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | 學位論文 ; thesis |
| Format | 135 |
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