Elkin B T, Bethke R W
Wildlife Management Division, Northwest Territories Department of Renewable Resources, Yellowknife, Canada.
Sci Total Environ. 1995 Jan 15;160-161:307-21. doi: 10.1016/0048-9697(95)04365-8.
Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) are strict herbivores with a winter diet consisting primarily of lichen. This simple food chain makes caribou a good species for monitoring changes in arctic terrestrial ecosystem contamination. The defined ranges of herds across the Northwest Territories (NWT) also enables examination of spatial trends in contaminant exposure. Caribou were collected from five locations in the first half of a study designed to examine levels of a broad spectrum of organochlorine, heavy metal, and radionuclide contaminants. A wide range of contaminants were detected, with most compounds found at relatively low levels. In general, organochlorine residues were significantly lower in caribou from the mainland Bathurst and Qamanirjuaq (Arviat) and the Southampton Island herds than in caribou from Cape Dorset and Lake Harbour on southern Baffin Island. Moderate levels of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and alpha-hexachlorocyclohexane (alpha-HCH) were detected at all five study sites. HCB residues ranged from a lipid corrected mean of 32.83 ng/g in fat of Bathurst caribou to 129.41 ng/g in Lake Harbour animals. Alpha-HCH levels ranged from 8.11 ng/g in Bathurst animals to 37.9 ng/g in Cape Dorset caribou. Total polychlorinated biphenyl (sigma PCB) residues ranged from 6.24 ng/g in fat of Arviat caribou to 31.68 ng/g in Cape Dorset animals. Congeners 153 and 138 were the most dominant of the 43 congeners tested. Metal levels were also relatively low with the exception of cadmium, which had community means of 9.68- 33.87 micrograms/g in kidney tissue and 1.96-4.39 micrograms/g in liver tissue. Moderate levels of cesium-137 were detected, with community means of 33.2-184.1 Bq/kg in muscle tissue. Long-range atmospheric transport appears to be the primary source of the contaminants detected in this study.
北美驯鹿（Rangifer tarandus）是严格的食草动物，冬季主要以地衣为食。这种简单的食物链使北美驯鹿成为监测北极陆地生态系统污染变化的良好物种。西北地区（NWT）各鹿群明确的活动范围也有助于研究污染物暴露的空间趋势。在一项旨在检测多种有机氯、重金属和放射性核素污染物水平的研究的上半年，从五个地点采集了北美驯鹿样本。检测到了多种污染物，大多数化合物的含量相对较低。总体而言，来自大陆巴瑟斯特和卡马尼图亚克（阿维特）以及南安普敦岛鹿群的北美驯鹿体内的有机氯残留量明显低于来自巴芬岛南部多塞特角和湖港的北美驯鹿。在所有五个研究地点都检测到了中等水平的六氯苯（HCB）和α-六氯环己烷（α-HCH）。HCB残留量在脂质校正后的脂肪均值范围为：巴瑟斯特北美驯鹿脂肪中为32.83纳克/克，湖港地区动物脂肪中为129.41纳克/克。α-HCH水平范围为：巴瑟斯特地区动物中为8.11纳克/克，多塞特角北美驯鹿中为37.9纳克/克。总多氯联苯（σ PCB）残留量在脂质校正后的脂肪均值范围为：阿维特北美驯鹿脂肪中为6.24纳克/克，多塞特角动物脂肪中为31.68纳克/克。在检测的43种同系物中，同系物153和138最为常见。除镉外，金属含量也相对较低，镉在肾脏组织中的群落均值为9.68 - 33.87微克/克，在肝脏组织中的均值为1.96 - 4.39微克/克。检测到了中等水平的铯-137，肌肉组织中的群落均值为33.2 - 184.1贝可勒尔/千克。长距离大气传输似乎是本研究中检测到的污染物的主要来源。
