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Using a male blue whale earplug, chemical analysis reveals lifetime patterns of mercury and organic pollutant exposure as well as fluctuating hormone levels. Specifically, we quantified contaminant maternal transfer, time to sexual maturity, and the doubling of stress over the animal\u2019s lifespan. We anticipate that this technique will fundamentally transform our ability to assess human impact on these environmental sentinels and their ecosystems.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1311418110","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,17]],"date-time":"2013-09-17T00:23:51Z","timestamp":1379377431000},"page":"16922-16926","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":92,"title":["Blue whale earplug reveals lifetime contaminant exposure and hormone profiles"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"110","author":[{"given":"Stephen J.","family":"Trumble","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Departments of aBiology and"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eleanor M.","family":"Robinson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Institute of Ecological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Michelle","family":"Berman-Kowalewski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, CA 93105; and"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Charles W.","family":"Potter","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sascha","family":"Usenko","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Environmental Science and"},{"name":"The Institute of Ecological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798;"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2013,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_3_1_2","unstructured":"SB Reilly et al. 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