Troubled waters ahead Audun Rikardsen – www.audunrikardsen.com
Marine chemical pollution that concentrates in the blubber of orcas 鈥 also known as killer whales 鈥 could wipe out half of all known populations within a century, marine biologists have warned. Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, threaten orcas by potentially disrupting reproduction, physically blocking reproductive organs and reducing sperm counts, leading to dwindling birth rates in exposed populations.
鈥淲hat we see in other species is that PCBs affect reproductive organs,鈥 says Jean-Pierre Desforges of Aarhus University in Denmark, and head of the analysis. 鈥淚n Baltic ring seals, for example, they cause physical blockages in the…
