University of British Columbia researchers studying the marine food web of the Northeast Pacific Ocean have found that the exposure and accumulation of chemical pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organic mercury, will be exacerbated under climate change.
University of British Columbia researchers studying the marine food web of the Northeast Pacific Ocean have found that the exposure and accumulation of chemical pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organic mercury, will be exacerbated under climate change.
The study, published recently in Scientific Reports, also found that this would increase the accumulation and risk of exposure to these pollutants and their toxic health effects, on both mid-level predators like Chinook salmon as well as top predators like resident killer whales.
“This has serious implications,” said lead author Juan José Alava, a researcher at the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries’ OceanCanada Partnership and Nippon Foundation-UBC Nereus Program. “All of the southern resident killer whales that exist along the Pacific Northeast Coast eat Chinook salmon, which is their primary diet. These iconic whales are already facing many anthropogenic impacts—ship traffic, underwater noise, marine pollution—and they will be further impacted by increased pollutant bioaccumulation driven by climate change.”
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