Katrine Borgå

• Ruus, Anders; Allan, Ian; Bæk, Kine & Borgå, Katrine (2021). Partitioning of persistent hydrophobic contaminants to different storage lipid classes. Chemosphere.  ISSN 0045-6535.  263 . doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.127890 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Lipids generally represent the major matrix contributing to the absorptive capacity for hydrophobic organic contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. The aim of the present study was to determine whether contaminants partition to a different degree to the different storage lipid classes: wax ester (WE) and triacylglycerol (TAG). This was undertaken by studying experimentally the partitioning of organochlorine compounds between lipids (WE or TAG) and silicone rubber phase. Our results indicate that hydrophobic compounds have a slightly higher affinity for WE than for TAG. The findings thus corroborate earlier suggestions that contaminants accumulate to a greater extent in food webs with a higher reliance of on WE, such as in the Arctic. This knowledge is of interest since it implies that possible changes in planktonic community species composition, and thereby possible changes in the lipid composition, may have consequences for accumulation of hydrophobic contaminants in apex predators. However, the magnitude of these consequences remains unknown, and there may well be other factors of importance for previously observed higher accumulation of contaminants in Arctic systems. Thus, we have here identified aspects regarding partitioning of contaminants to lipids that need further scrutiny, and there is a need for further quantitative estimates of the suggested difference in absorptive capacities for hydrophobic contaminants between WE and TAG.

• Andvik, Clare; Jourdain, Eve; Ruus, Anders; Lyche, Jan Ludvig; Karoliussen, Richard & Borgå, Katrine (2020). Preying on seals pushes killer whales from Norway above pollution effects thresholds. Scientific Reports.  ISSN 2045-2322.  10 . doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-68659-y Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are at risk from high levels of biomagnifying pollutants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury (Hg). Previous toxicological risk assessments for the Norwegian killer whale population have assumed fish as the primary prey source, and assessed the population as below established effect thresholds. However, some individuals have recently been identified to also feed on seals. This study is the first to quantify levels of pollutants in seal-eating killer whales from northern Norway, and to measure Hg levels in the skin of killer whales worldwide. We found higher levels of all pollutants in seal-eating than fish-eating killer whales, including the emerging brominated flame retardants pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB), pentabromotoluene (PBT) and hexabromobenzene (HBB). Sum polychlorinated biphenyls (ΣPCBs) in the blubber of seal-eaters (n = 7, geometric mean = 46 µg/g l.w.) were four times higher than fish-eaters (n = 24, geometric mean = 11 µg/g l.w.), which pushed all seal-eating individuals above multiple thresholds for health effects. Total Hg levels in skin of seal-eaters (n = 10, arithmetic mean = 3.7 µg/g d.w.) were twice as high as in fish-eaters (n = 28, arithmetic mean = 1.8 µg/g d.w.). Our results indicate that by feeding on higher trophic prey, the Norwegian killer whale population is at higher risk of health effects from pollution than previously assumed.

• Jourdain, Eve; Andvik, Clare Margaret; Karoliussen, Richard; Ruus, Anders; Vongraven, Dag & Borgå, Katrine (2020). Isotopic niche differs between seal and fish-eating killer whales (Orcinus orca) in northern Norway. Ecology and Evolution.  ISSN 2045-7758.  10(9), s 4115- 4127 . doi: 10.1002/ece3.6182 Full text in Research Archive. Show summary

  Ecological diversity has been reported for killer whales (Orcinus orca) throughout the North Atlantic but patterns of prey specialization have remained poorly understood. We quantify interindividual dietary variations in killer whales (n = 38) sampled throughout the year in 2017–2018 in northern Norway using stable isotopic nitrogen (δ15N: 15N/14N) and carbon (δ13C: 13C/12C) ratios. A Gaussian mixture model assigned sampled individuals to three differentiated clusters, characterized by disparate nonoverlapping isotopic niches, that were consistent with predatory field observations: seal‐eaters, herring‐eaters, and lumpfish‐eaters. Seal‐eaters showed higher δ15N values (mean ± SD: 12.6 ± 0.3‰, range = 12.3–13.2‰, n = 10) compared to herring‐eaters (mean ± SD: 11.7 ± 0.2‰, range = 11.4–11.9‰, n = 19) and lumpfish‐eaters (mean ± SD: 11.6 ± 0.2‰, range = 11.3–11.9, n = 9). Elevated δ15N values for seal‐eaters, regardless of sampling season, confirmed feeding at high trophic levels throughout the year. However, a wide isotopic niche and low measured δ15N values in the seal‐eaters, compared to that of whales that would eat solely seals (δN‐measured = 12.6 vs. δN‐expected = 15.5), indicated a diverse diet that includes both fish and mammal prey. A narrow niche for killer whales sampled at herring and lumpfish seasonal grounds supported seasonal prey specialization reflective of local peaks in prey abundance for the two fish‐eating groups. Our results, thus, show differences in prey specialization within this killer whale population in Norway and that the episodic observations of killer whales feeding on prey other than fish are a consistent behavior, as reflected in different isotopic niches between seal and fish‐eating individuals.

• Heuschele, Jan David; Lode, Torben; Andersen, Tom; Borgå, Katrine & Titelman, Josefin (2019). An affordable and automated imaging approach to acquire highly resolved individual data—an example of copepod growth in response to multiple stressors. PeerJ.  ISSN 2167-8359.  7, s 1- 22 . doi: 10.7717/peerj.6776 Full text in Research Archive.
• Sahlmann, Andrea Silke; Lode, Torben; Heuschele, Jan David; Borgå, Katrine; Titelman, Josefin & Hylland, Ketil (2019). Genotoxic Response and Mortality in 3 Marine Copepods Exposed to Waterborne Copper. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.  ISSN 0730-7268.  38(10), s 2224- 2232 . doi: 10.1002/etc.4541
• Borgå, Katrine & Ruus, Anders (2019). Quantifying Bioaccumulation in the Aquatic Environment. Methods in pharmacology and toxicology.  ISSN 1557-2153.  s 1- 18 . doi: 10.1007/7653_2019_36 Show summary

  Marine and freshwater ecosystems are exposed to various organic contaminants. Here, we summarize useful tools to assess and quantify bioaccumulation of organic contaminants in biota from water, diet, and sediment exposure. These bioaccumulation metrics (bioaccumulation factor BAF, bioconcentration factor BCF, biota-sediment accumulation factor BSAF, biomagnification factor BMF, trophic magnification factor TMF) describe the enrichment of organic contaminants in biota relative to its surrounding environment or source of the chemicals (e.g., water, sediment, or food).

View all works in Cristin

• Thorstensen, H. S.; Ruus, Anders; Helberg, Morten; Bæk, Kine; Enge, Ellen Katrin & Borgå, Katrine (2020). Herring gull and common eider as indicators of contaminants in an urban fjord.
• Aarønes, Malin Røyset; Nielsen, Anders; Paus-Knudsen, Julie Sørlie; van Bavel, Bert & Borgå, Katrine (2019). Accumulation of Clothianidin, a neonicotinoid pesticide, in bumblebees (Bombus terrestris).
• Borgå, Katrine (2019). The Arctic ecosystem: A canary in the coal mine for global multiple stressors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.  ISSN 0730-7268.  38(3), s 487- 488 . doi: 10.1002/etc.4360
• Borgå, Katrine; Eckbo, Norith; Warner, Nicholas Alexander; Le Bohec, Celine; Herzke, Dorte; Planas-Bielsa, Victor; Gabrielsen, Geir W.; Descamps, Sebastien & Bustnes, Jan Ove (2019). Avian wildlife: contaminant temporal trends and the bipolar perspective.

View all works in Cristin