HealthHealth: a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

•Therefore, we are all ill to some extent

•We can also all improve our health to live happier, longer , more productive lives

Disease

• Disease: a deleterious change in the body’s condition in response to an environmental factor

– Types• Nutritional• Chemical• Biological• Psychological

Infectious Organisms

• Pathogens, disease causing organisms– kill 18 million people/year worldwide

• Different kinds– Respiratory infections: Pneumonia and influenza– Perinatal conditions including surrounding birth take

2.4 million lives/year– 2 Billion cases of diarrhea/ year lead to 2 million

deaths– AIDS Virus

• 30 million now affected, 2.9 million die each year

Emergent Diseases and Environmental Change

• Emergent disease is one that one never knew of before or has been absent for at least 20 years. – Ex: Ebola fever; – Causes

Causes of Emergent Diseases

• Travelers bring new germs to a naïve population

• Human densities are very high

• Expanding populations push into remote areas

• We are changing our environment– Elimination of predators favors disease carrying

organisms such as mice, rats and mosquitoes.

Antibiotic and Pesticide Resistance

• Careless application by humans– Over use of insecticides

• Pathogens evolve rapidly – Lead to resistant pathogens

• Malaria was greatly reduced throughout the world, but now it’s back

Environmental Toxicology

• Environmental Toxicology– Deals with toxicants that come from or are

discharged into the environment– On they affect humans, other animals and the

ecosystem– Animals can be ‘canaries in a coal mine’

Toxic Chemicals

• Hazardous- dangerous– Includes flammables, explosives, irritants,

sensitizers, acids and caustics

• Toxicant- poison to human or wildlife– React with specific cellular components to

kill cells

• Allergens: substances that activate the immune system.

Carcinogens

• Carcinogens- substances that cause cancer, invasive out-of-control cell growth

– A.C.S. : ½ of males and 1/3 of females will have some form of cancer in their lifetime.

Fun at the Beach

Current State of Our Orcas

Highline Community College

Dead Orcas

                                    

    

State of Southern Resident Orcas

• Almost 20% orcas died between 1995 and 2000.

• Reproductive females have not produced young in ten years.

• Only four adult males in the entire community of 80 whales.

Killer Whales- Orcas

• Orcinus orca

• Largest member of the dolphin family, Delphinidae

• Identifying traits– Tall dorsal fin– Saddle patch behind dorsal fin– White patches on sides, belly and behind eyes

Orca Biology

• Average Birth Weight: 395 lbs

• Average Adult Weight: 2.6 – 9 tons– Males are larger than females

• Lifespan:– Males ~40 years– Females >60 years

• Sexually mature ~13 years

Orca Natural History

• Found in all the world’s oceans

• Travel in pods from 3 to >150 members

• Feed on fish, squid and marine mammals

Transient vs. Resident Orcas

Transients Residents

Habitat Offshore Nearshore

Food Marine Mammals

Fish

Pod Size 3-5 >20

Vocalization Quiet Very Vocal

Resident Orcas

• Resident orcas live in coastal areas feeding mostly on fish

• Live in extended familial units called pods– Pods are matriarchal

• Northeast Pacific resident orcas are found from Puget Sound to Alaska– Puget Sound orcas are Southern Resident

Orcas

Southern Resident Orcas

• Consists of three pods: J, K and L

• Summer in the area around the San Juan Islands feeding on salmon runs

• Winter on outer coast, but do not know where

Puget Sound Orcas and PCBs

• Highest levels of PCBs in blubber of any marine mammal in the world– Average almost 150 ppm– <10 ppm PCB is known to cause immune

problems in seals

• Dead female transient orca on Dungeness Spit in May 2002 – 1000 ppm PCB– 12ppm- EPA’s standard for marine sediments

Polychlorinated Biphenyls(PCBs)

Cl

Cl

Cl

Cl

PCBs

• Highly stable oily fluids and solids– Transformers, pesticides, etc

• Fat soluble – Reside in fatty tissue

• Block hormone activity– Destroy normal immune function– Cause liver cancer, pituitary tumors, leukemia, and

lymphoma

• Banned in U.S. since 1977

Ecosystem Review

• Ecosystem– Organisms interacting with environment

and each other through a food chain

• Food Chain – Biomass moves from one organism to

another as each eats a lower member and, in turn, is eaten by a higher member

Generalized Ecological Pyramid

2° Consumers3° Cons.

1000 g Biomass

100 g

10 g

1 g

Primary ProducersPrimary Consumers

Idealized Puget Sound Ecological Pyramid

1000 g

100 g

10 g

1 g

PhytoplanktonZooplanktonSalmon

Orcas

Pollutants

• Pollutant–Adversely affects the health, survival,

or activities of living organisms

–Persistent Organic Pollutant• POP• Stable, Long Lasting• Includes DDT and PCBs

Sources of Pollutants in the Environment

• Point Source–Specific location of concentrated

pollutants• Factory Waste, Sewage

• Nonpoint Source–Scattered or diffuse sources of

pollutants • Golf Courses, Agriculture

Factors Influencing Impact of Pollutants

• Solubility– Water soluble pollutants

• Move easily through environment

– Fat soluble pollutants• Need a carrier • Long-lasting in body’s fatty tissue

• Persistence– More stable– Longer to break down– More harm it can do

Pollutants in the Food Chain

• Bioaccumulation– Cells increase the concentrations of

molecules relative to the environment

• Biomagnification– Concentration of pollutants increases as

they move up the ecological pyramid– Only 10% of biomass, but most of the

pollutant is transferred

DDT in a Long Island Estuary(from Woodwell, Wurster and

Isaccson, 1967)

Trophic level Organism DDT in wet weight of whole organism

Primary Producer

Green Alga 0.08 ppm

Primary Consumer

Mud Snail 0.26 ppm

Secondary Consumer

Summer Flounder

1.28 ppm

Tertiary Consumer

Ring-billed Gull

75.5 ppm (1000x initial concentration)

Idealized Puget Sound Pyramid

With PCBs

1000 g

100 g

10 g

1g

PhytoplanktonZooplanktonSalmon

Orcas

1 g

Trophic Level %PCBPhytoplankton 0.1%Zooplankton 1%Salmon 10%Orcas 100%

The ‘Double Whammy’• In blubber, PCBs are not very harmful.

• Low salmon runs force orcas to metabolize more blubber to survive.

• The blubber releases PCBs into the blood, destroying the immune system.

• Therefore, starvation increases the lethality of the pollutant.