Oral Presentation Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Australasia 2021

Chemical contaminants in the liver tissue of New Zealand Fur Seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) (#53)

Anil Gautam 1 , Jane Hall 2 3 , Simon Apte 4 , Chad V Jarolimek 4 , Christopher Doyle 1
  1. Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia
  2. Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD, Australia
  3. Australian Registry of Wildlife Health, Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Taronga, Mosman, NSW, Australia
  4. CSIRO Land and Water, Lucas Heights, NSW, Australia

The increasing production and use of chemicals has exposed our environment to a variety of chemical pollutants. Many of these pollutants, such as pesticides, toxic metals, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) ultimately reach the ocean where they can persist in the environment for a long time and adversely affect marine ecosystems. Monitoring the concentrations of chemical pollutants in marine biota not only helps in understanding wildlife toxicity, but the data can also act as a global indicator of chemical pollution. There is an extensive amount of literature on the distribution of persistent chemical pollutants such as toxic metals, organochlorines, and PFAS in marine animals from northern hemisphere. However, there is a lack of data on marine animals found in southern hemisphere. This work presents the concentrations of several chemical pollutants (toxic metals, organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, and PFAS) in the liver tissue of New Zealand Fur Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri) that were collected as part of disease surveillance program in NSW. In addition, this work also investigates concentration trends amongst different age groups.