Abstract
Organic contaminants accumulated in cetaceans reflect the levels in the ambient environment and/or their food. Recent research pointed out the possibilities of using the residue levels in the bodies of long-life marine animals in determining the life history like migration pattern, age and growth, reproductive history etc. The levels of the organic contaminants such as HCHs, DDTs, PCBs, HCB, CHLs, BTs, TCPMe and TCPMOH in cetaceans closely relates to the characteristic mobility of the compounds. The highly mobile compounds such as HCHs were higher in cold and temperate water animals suggesting the atmospheric transport from tropical source to northern sinks, whereas DDTs were higher in tropical water species, indicating its less movable nature. PCBs, CHLs and HCB were showing a more or less similar pattern to HCHs, whereas TCPMe and TCPMOH showed a latitudinal distribution similar to DDTs. Such complex phenomena were discussed.
