Immune Function and Organochlorine Pollutants in Arctic Breeding Glaucous Gulls

Abstract

Immune function and organochlorine pollutants in arctic breeding glaucous gullsBustnes, JO; Hanssen, SA; Folstad, I; Erikstad, KE; Hasselquist, Dennis; Skaare, JU General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. (PCB 101, 99, 118, 153, 138, 180, and 170). There were significant or near significant positive relationships (0.1 Ͼ p Ͼ 0.001) between most persistent OCs and the levels of heterophils in the blood for both sexes in 1997 and for male gulls in 2001. Similarly, levels of all persistent OCs and lymphocytes were positively related (0.1 Ͼ p Ͼ 0.001) in both sexes in 1997. This suggests that OCs are causing alterations to immune systems, which may decrease their efficiency and make the birds more susceptible to parasites and diseases. In female gulls, the antibody response to the diphtheria toxoid was significant and negative for HCB (p Ͻ0.01) and weaker, but significant, for oxychlordane (p Ͻ0.05), suggesting that OCs were causing an impairment of the humoral immunity. Various OCs have been linked to negative effects in our study population, including decreased survival and reproduction, and this study suggests that such compounds also affect immune status and function. Immune Function and Organochlorine Pollutants in Arctic Breeding Glaucous Gulls

Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor) Nesting on Wetlands Impacted by Oil Sands Mining Are Highly Parasitized by the Bird Blow Fly Protocalliphora Spp.

“…Eeva et al (1994) found no changes in ectoparasite burden of birds nesting along a gradient of air pollution, but Moles and Wade (2001) documented an increased prevalence of gill ectoparasites in fish exposed to high levels of PAHs. The number of nematodes in arctic breeding glaucous gulls increased with tissue-organochlorine levels (Sagerup et al, 2000), and it was later demonstrated that humoral immunity was impaired by organochlorines in this gull population (Bustnes et al, 2004).…”

Integument colouration in relation to persistent organic pollutants and body condition in arctic breeding black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla)

“…Carotenoids are thought to promote survival (immunity, antioxidant capacity) and might be mobilized to overcome the harmful effects of POPs ingestion on immunity (Bustnes et al, 2004;e.g. Pérez et al, 2010a;Sagerup et al, 2009) at the expense of coloured sexual signals.…”

Assessment of persistent organic pollutants and their relationship with immunoglobulins in blood of penguin colonies from Antarctica

“…Some studies on fauna have shown that there is a decrease in the levels of immunoglobulin when the individual has been exposed to chemical pollutants, resulting in an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases (Grasman 2002, Bustnes et al 2004, Sagerup et al 2014. It can even lead to an increased reproductive effort and an increased parasite load (Bustnes et al 2004).…”

“…Some studies on fauna have shown that there is a decrease in the levels of immunoglobulin when the individual has been exposed to chemical pollutants, resulting in an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases (Grasman 2002, Bustnes et al 2004, Sagerup et al 2014. It can even lead to an increased reproductive effort and an increased parasite load (Bustnes et al 2004). Seabirds with high levels of POPs have decreased reproduction and survival rates, increased parasitic load, showed greater wing asymmetry and evidenced immunohaematological disorders (Sagerup et al 2000, Bustnes et al 2004.…”