Happy Orcas

1. Happy Orcas

2. Dead Orcas

3. State of Southern Resident Orcas • Almost 20% orcas died between 1995 and 2000. • Reproductive females have not produced young in ten years. • Only four adult males in the entire community of 80 whales.

4. Puget Sound Orcas and PCBs • Highest levels of PCBs in blubber of any marine mammal in the world • Average almost 150 ppm • <10 ppm PCB is known to cause immune problems in seals • Dead female transient orca on Dungeness Spit in May 2002 • 1000 ppm PCB • 12ppm- EPA’s standard for marine sediments

5. Polychlorinated Biphenyls(PCBs) Cl Cl Cl Cl

6. PCBs • Highly stable oily fluids and solids • Transformers, pesticides, etc • Fat soluble • Reside in fatty tissue • Block hormone activity • Destroy normal immune function • Cause liver cancer, pituitary tumors, leukemia, and lymphoma • Banned in U.S. since 1977

7. Ecosystem Review • Ecosystem • Organisms interacting with environment and each other through a food chain • Food Chain • Biomass moves from one organism to another as each eats a lower member and, in turn, is eaten by a higher member

8. Generalized Ecological Pyramid 3° Cons. 1 g 2° Consumers 10 g Primary Consumers 100 g Primary Producers 1000 g Biomass

9. Idealized Puget Sound Ecological Pyramid Orcas 1 g Salmon 10 g Zooplankton 100 g Phytoplankton 1000 g

10. Pollutants • Pollutant • Adversely affects the health, survival, or activities of living organisms • Persistent Organic Pollutant • POP • Stable, Long Lasting • Includes DDT and PCBs

11. Sources of Pollutants in the Environment • Point Source • Specific location of concentrated pollutants • Factory waste • Sewage • Nonpoint Source • Scattered or diffuse sources of pollutants • Golf courses • Agriculture

12. Factors Influencing Impact of Pollutants • Solubility • Water soluble pollutants • Move easily through environment • Fat soluble pollutants • Need a carrier • Long-lasting in body’s fatty tissue • Persistence • More stable • Longer to break down • More harm it can do

13. Pollutants in the Food Chain • Bioaccumulation • Cells increase the concentrations of molecules relative to the environment • Biomagnification • Concentration of pollutants increases as they move up the ecological pyramid • Only 10% of biomass, but most of the pollutant is transferred

14. Trophic level Organism DDT in wet weight of whole organism Primary Producer Green Alga 0.08 ppm Primary Consumer Mud Snail 0.26 ppm Secondary Consumer Summer Flounder 1.28 ppm Tertiary Consumer Ring-billed Gull 75.5 ppm (About 1000x Initial Concentrations!) DDT in a Long Island Estuary(from Woodwell, Wurster and Isaccson, 1967)

15. Trophic Level %PCB Phytoplankton 0.1% Zooplankton 1% Salmon 10% Orcas 100% Idealized Puget Sound Ecological PyramidWith PCBs Orcas 1g Salmon 10 g Zooplankton 100 g Phytoplankton 1000 g 1 g

16. The ‘Double Whammy’ • In blubber, PCBs are not very harmful. • Low salmon runs force orcas to metabolize more blubber to survive. • The blubber releases PCBs into the blood, destroying the immune system. • Therefore, starvation increases the lethality of the pollutant.