| Abstract: | Livers from 20 bowhead whales taken in subsistence hunts at Barrow, Alaska, were analyzed for essential and non-essential elements. Concentrations of essential elements were similar to those found in other cetaceans. Non-essential element concentrations were generally comparable to other baleen whales and very low compared to most odontocetes. One deviation from this pattern was a relatively high level of hepatic cadmium that may be related to specific dietary factors of this krill-dependent species. No sex-related differences were found in element concentrations. Hepatic cadmium and mercury increased with animal length, and significant positive interelement correlations were found between copper/zinc and mercury/selenium. We found a mercury-toselenium ratio much lower (1:40) than the frequently reported ratio of one to one. The data suggest that further studies of the postulated mercurydetoxifying role of selenium are warranted. |
