Polypropylene screw cap tubes

Fecal samples used in this study were collected from subsistence-harvested bowhead whales in Utqiagvik, Alaska, USA in 2010–2021 (extract group), in 2017 (raw storage treatment group), and in 2008–2017 (opportunistic long-term frozen samples). Fecal material was removed from cut sections of colon using plastic spoons and stored in 50 mL polypropylene screw-cap tubes (Falcon-BD, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA). Samples were frozen at −20 °C until analysis at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Wildlife Algal-Toxin Research and Response Network (WARRN-West) laboratory (Seattle, WA, USA). STX was quantified in each sample prior to this present study. Leftover unanalyzed sample material remained frozen between analyses. Samples were selected for the present study based on their original STX concentrations (>100 ng/g).

During 2016–2019, fecal samples from subsistence-harvested bowhead whales were collected in Utqiagvik, Alaska. Sections of colon were cut and fecal matter was removed using plastic spoons. Fecal samples were collected in 50-mL polypropylene screw-cap tubes (Falcon-BD, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA) and stored frozen at −20 °C until time of analysis. Samples were shipped to the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Wildlife Algal-Toxin Research and Response Network (WARRN-West) laboratory (Seattle, WA, USA) for toxin analysis.
All samples were originally subsampled and analyzed for DA 2–8 months after sample collection. Remaining unanalyzed sample material was kept frozen. We selected samples for the present study based on their original DA concentration and date of analysis, choosing samples with original concentrations of >100 ng/g whenever possible.