The Risk of Polychlorinated Biphenyls Facilitating Tumors in Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles ( Chelonia mydas )

Muting Yan, Huayue Nie, Wenjing Wang, Yumei Huang, Qing X. Li and Jun Wang
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Muting Yan: College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Huayue Nie: College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Wenjing Wang: College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Yumei Huang: College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Qing X. Li: Department of Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
Jun Wang: College of Marine Sciences, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-9

Abstract: The Hawaiian green turtle ( Chelonia mydas ) is on the list of threatened species protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1978 in large part due to a severe tumor-forming disease named fibropapillomatosis. Chemical pollution is a prime suspect threatening the survival of C. mydas . In this study, PCBs concentrations were determined in 43 C. mydas plasma samples archived on Tern Island. The total PCBs concentration in male C. mydas (mean 1.10 ng/mL) was two times more than that of females (mean 0.43 ng/mL). The relationship between straight carapace length and PCBs concentration in females has also been studied, which was negatively related. To figure out the possible existence of correlations between PCBs and tumor status, we measured the PCBs concentration in turtles with no tumor, moderate or severe tumor affliction. PCBs concentration of two afflicted groups was much higher than the healthy group, suggesting that PCBs may play a role in fibropapillomatosis in Hawaiian green turtle.

Keywords: Hawaiian green turtle; PCBs; fibropapillomatosis; tumor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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