Chemosphere, volume 315, pages 137785
Solving the mystery of the chukotka stinky gray whales
Polyakova O. V.
1
,
Filatova O. A.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6
,
Fedutin I. D.
2, 3, 4
,
Litovka Denis I
7, 8
,
Bukenov Bauyrzhan
9, 10
,
Artaev Vyacheslav B
11
,
Humston-Fulmer Elizabeth M.
11
,
Binkley Joe
11
,
Kosyakov Dmitry S
12, 13
,
Lebedev Albert T.
14, 15, 16
3
Odense, Denmark.
|
5
Provideniya, Chukotka, Russia
|
6
Beringia National Park
7
ANO "Chukotka Arctic Scientific Center"
8
Anadyr, Chukotka, Russia.
|
9
Almaty, Kazakhstan.
|
10
11
LECO Corporation, 3000 Lakeview Avenue, St. Joseph, MI, 49085, USA.
|
12
Arkhangelsk, Russia.
|
14
Postojna, Slovenia. Electronic address: a.lebedev@org.chem.msu.ru.
|
15
MASSECO D.o.o.
Publication type: Journal Article
Publication date: 2023-02-01
General Chemistry
General Medicine
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Engineering
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Pollution
Abstract
Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) constitute an important part of the diet of Chukotka Native population, reaching 30% of consumed food for the inland Chukchas. Over one hundred licenses for whale hunting are issued on an annual basis. After the USSR collapse natives had to hunt whales near the shore from the small boats. The problem of "stinky" whales arose immediately, as the meat of some harvested species possessed a strong medicinal/chemical odour. The hypotheses explaining the phenomenon ranged from biotoxins, to oil spills. To understand the problem, various tissues of normal and stinky Gray whales were collected in 2020-2021 and analyzed using headspace solid phase microextraction with Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry. Here, we show that dozens of smelly organic compounds were identified among over 500 compounds detected in the samples. The most interesting analytes related to the off odour are bromophenols. The most probable suspect is 2,6-dibromophenol with strong iodoformic odour, perfectly matching that of the "stinky" whales. Quantitative results demonstrated its levels were up to 500-fold higher in the "stinky" whales' tissues. The source of 2,6-dibromophenol is likely polychaetes, producing 2,6-dibromophenol and colonising near shore waters where whales feed. Therefore, the mystery of the stinky whales may be considered resolved.
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Polyakova O. V. et al. Solving the mystery of the chukotka stinky gray whales // Chemosphere. 2023. Vol. 315. p. 137785.
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Polyakova O. V., Filatova O. A., Fedutin I. D., Litovka D. I., Bukenov B., Artaev V. B., Humston-Fulmer E. M., Binkley J., Kosyakov D. S., Lebedev A. T. Solving the mystery of the chukotka stinky gray whales // Chemosphere. 2023. Vol. 315. p. 137785.
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TY - JOUR
DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137785
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.chemosphere.2023.137785
TI - Solving the mystery of the chukotka stinky gray whales
T2 - Chemosphere
AU - Polyakova, O. V.
AU - Filatova, O. A.
AU - Fedutin, I. D.
AU - Litovka, Denis I
AU - Bukenov, Bauyrzhan
AU - Artaev, Vyacheslav B
AU - Humston-Fulmer, Elizabeth M.
AU - Binkley, Joe
AU - Kosyakov, Dmitry S
AU - Lebedev, Albert T.
PY - 2023
DA - 2023/02/01 00:00:00
PB - Elsevier
SP - 137785
VL - 315
SN - 0045-6535
ER -
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@article{2023_Polyakova,
author = {O. V. Polyakova and O. A. Filatova and I. D. Fedutin and Denis I Litovka and Bauyrzhan Bukenov and Vyacheslav B Artaev and Elizabeth M. Humston-Fulmer and Joe Binkley and Dmitry S Kosyakov and Albert T. Lebedev},
title = {Solving the mystery of the chukotka stinky gray whales},
journal = {Chemosphere},
year = {2023},
volume = {315},
publisher = {Elsevier},
month = {feb},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.chemosphere.2023.137785},
pages = {137785},
doi = {10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.137785}
}