Profiles of Fecal Porphyrins in River Otters Following the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill

Median levels of Coproporphyrin III (Copro III) in fecal samples of river otters ( Lontra canadensis) collected from an oiled area in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, during 1990 were significantly higher than in samples collected from the same oiled area during 1996 ( p=0.011, one way analysis of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine pollution bulletin 2000-12, Vol.40 (12), p.1132-1138
Main Authors: Taylor, Christopher, Duffy, Lawrence K, Terry Bowyer, R, Blundell, Gail M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alaska
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Biological and medical sciences
biomarker
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates
Exxon Valdez
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Lontra canadensis
Mammalia
porphyrins
Prince William Sound
USA, Alaska
USA, Alaska, Prince William Sound
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Summary:Median levels of Coproporphyrin III (Copro III) in fecal samples of river otters ( Lontra canadensis) collected from an oiled area in Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA, during 1990 were significantly higher than in samples collected from the same oiled area during 1996 ( p=0.011, one way analysis of variance), a nonoiled reference area in Prince William Sound during 1996 ( p=0.002) and a reference area in southeast Alaska during 1998 ( p=0.004). An overall test of significance that combined probabilities from the statistical analysis of this porphyrin study with those from other biomarker studies revealed a significant difference in physiological response of river otters between oiled and nonoiled areas of the Sound for 1990 ( p < 0.01). We demonstrated that changes in levels of fecal porphyrins may serve as a biomarker that may contribute to a health assessment of wild river otters.
ISSN:0025-326X
1879-3363
DOI:10.1016/S0025-326X(00)00073-4