Alaska Contaminant and Tissue Archival Program - animals shown are black-legged kittiwake, thick-billed murre, beluga whale, polar bear, and walrus.
AMMTAP
Methods and Materials
Results
Summary and the Future
AMMTAP Bibliography
AMMTAP Partners and Collaborators
AMMTAP Contact Information
STAMP - Seabird Tissue Archival and Monitoring Program
Colonies sampled for STAMP
Preliminary data for STAMP
STAMP Bibliography
STAMP Partners and Collaborators
STAMP Contact Information
NBSB - National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank
NMMTB Tissue Sample Inventory


Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (AMMTAP) - An Arctic Environmental Monitoring Resource

Methods and Materials

Sampling and archival protocols

Samples of blubber, liver, kidney and muscle are collected using standard AMMTAP protocols specifically designed to:

  • provide sufficient material (~300 g) for multiple analyses for many different kinds of analytes;

  • minimize the possibility of sample loss by storing duplicate portions (subsamples A and B) in separate freezers;

  • control collection, processing, and storage procedures and equipment so as to minimize inadvertent contamination during sample handling and insure sample integrity;

  • provide cryogenic storage conditions (-150 °C) so as to insure sample stability over relatively long periods of time (i.e., years); and

  • maintain a sample tracking system with all data resulting from sample analysis, sample collection history and other data on the individual animals (e.g., necropsy reports), in order to maintain a complete database on the species sampled.

Barb Porter, pictured AMMTAP Specimens as maintained at the National Biomonitoring Specimen Bank (NBSB) by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland. (Barb Porter, pictured)
Sample of blubber from a ringed seal Removing a sample of blubber from a ringed seal (Phoca hispida) taken in an Alaska Native Subsistence hunt at Barrow, Alaska. These collections were made in cooperation with the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management
Alaska Map The sex of each animal is recorded and standard body measurements made. For polar bears, pinnipeds and odontocetes, teeth are collected for determining the ages of the animals and additional samples of liver, kidney, and other internal organs are provided to the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (Bethesda, Maryland) for histology analysis and archival.
graph specimens collected Rate of increase of specimens collected by the AMMTAP.
The collection of AMMTAP specimens is often associated with other ongoing biological programs. All data and information collected by other researchers from animals sampled for the AMMTAP are included in the database. Organizations collecting samples for the AMMTAP are: the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management (Barrow), Natural Resources Division of Kawerak, Inc. (Nome), NOAA Fisheries (Anchorage), and the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and USGS\BRD's Alaska Science Center (Anchorage).

Sample preparation procedures
sampling gear

Specialized sampling gear required for AMMTAP including: high purity grade water and ethanol, Teflon grinding mills, sample jars, bags, and Teflon handled titanium knives.

Of the two subsamples of each tissue collected, material selected for analysis is taken from subsample B. This subsample, ~150 g (wet weight), is homogenized using a grinding procedure specifically designed to maintain cryogenic conditions during the grinding operation. This procedure reduces the potential loss of volatile compounds and avoids degradation of the sample due to thawing and refreezing.

Alaska Native Beluga whale Alaska Native beluga whale subsistence hunt at Point Lay, Alaska (Chukchi Sea). With the assistance of the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, specimens from this population of beluga whales have been archived by AMMTAP. Samples of blubber from these animals have been analyzed by NIST and DFO Canada (D. Muir) for PCB's and chlorinated pesticides; liver samples have been analyzed by NIST for 35 elements, including: mercury, methyl mercury, selenium, cadmium, silver, arsenic, copper, and zinc. (This photo is from the collection of G. Carroll, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Barrow, AK)

Sample analysis

Through AMMTAP, samples are collected for contaminant monitoring in the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program of NOAA Fisheries. NIST also analyzes selected specimens from the specimen bank in order to:

  • provide organic and inorganic data for evaluating the stability of analytes and sample degradation during storage;

  • compare with results from samples collected in the future for long-term monitoring; and

  • compare with analytical results from other laboratories on samples collected at the same time for monitoring purposes.

Analytical procedures for PCBs, chlorinated pesticides and trace elements are described in NIST reports and publications.

continued to Results

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Last Reviewed: August 3, 2006