Population-level impacts of chemical contaminants on apex avian species

Shore, Richard F.; Taggart, Mark A.

doi:10.1016/j.coesh.2019.06.007

Cited by 17 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 30 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Especially pest controlling substances have shown to persist in the environment, bioaccumulate in food webs, and reach toxic concentrations in predatory species (de Wit et al 2020 ; Gómez-Ramírez et al 2019 ; Kean et al 2021 ). Raptors are particularly sensitive to anthropogenic pollution as many species have suffered from substantial population declines during the second half of the twentieth century (Helander et al 2002 ; Shore and Taggart 2019 ). While numerous pesticides were consequently classified as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and banned on a national or global scale during the 1970s and 1980s, residues of many POPs are still detectable in various species across Europe (de Wit et al 2020 ; Kean et al 2021 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany

Badry

Schenke

Brücher

et al. 2022

Environ Sci Pollut Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wildlife exposures to pest controlling substances have resulted in population declines of many predatory species during the past decades. Many pesticides were subsequently classified as persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic (PBT) and banned on national or global scales. However, despite their risks for non-target vertebrate wildlife, PBT substances such as anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are still permitted for use in Europe and have shown to threaten raptors. Whereas risks of ARs are known, much less information is available on emerging agrochemicals such as currently used PPPs and medicinal products (MPs) in higher trophic level species. We expect that currently used PPPs are relatively mobile (vs. lipophilic) as a consequence of the PBT criteria and thus more likely to be present in aqueous matrices. We therefore analyzed blood of 204 raptor nestlings of three terrestrial (red kite, common buzzard, Montagu’s harrier) and two aquatic species (white-tailed sea eagle, osprey) from Germany. In total, we detected ARs in 22.6% of the red kites and 8.6% of the buzzards, whereas no Montagu’s harriers or aquatic species were exposed prior to sampling. ΣAR concentration tended to be higher in North Rhine-Westphalia (vs. North-Eastern Germany) where population density is higher and intense livestock farming more frequent. Among the 90 targeted and currently used PPPs, we detected six substances from which bromoxynil (14.2%) was most frequent. Especially Montagu’s harrier (31%) and red kites (22.6%) were exposed and concentrations were higher in North Rhine-Westphalia as well. Among seven MPs, we detected ciprofloxacin (3.4%), which indicates that risk mitigation measures may be needed as resistance genes were already detected in wildlife from Germany. Taken together, our study demonstrates that raptors are exposed to various chemicals during an early life stage depending on their sampling location and underpins that red kites are at particular risk for multiple pesticide exposures in Germany.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany

Badry

Schenke

Brücher

et al. 2022

Environ Sci Pollut Res

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Keywords: Apex predators, Quality assurance, Archived samples, Digital sample freezing platform, Suspect screening, Chemicals regulations the twentieth century, they also triggered chemical risk assessment and mitigation measures for substances and their uses [3][4][5]. The population decline was particularly evident in apex predators, which in turn resulted in increased societal and political awareness of chemical contamination, as many apex predators are perceived as charismatic indicators of high conservation value and ecosystem diversity [6,7].…”

Section: Apex Predators and Chemical Pollution-continuing And Emergin...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Using environmental monitoring data from apex predators for chemicals management: towards harmonised sampling and processing of archived wildlife samples to increase the regulatory uptake of monitoring data in chemicals management

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Monitoring data from apex predators were key drivers in the development of early chemicals legislations due to the population declines of many species during the twentieth century, which was linked to certain persistent organic pollutants (POPs). Besides triggering the development of global treaties (e.g. the Stockholm Convention), chemical monitoring data from apex predators have been particularly important for identifying compounds with bioaccumulative properties under field conditions. Many apex predators are protected species and only a few environmental specimen banks (ESBs) regularly collect samples as many ESBs were established during the 1980–1990s when apex predators were scarce. Today, many POPs have been banned, which contributed to the recovery of many apex predator populations. As a consequence, apex predator samples are now available in research collections (RCs) and natural history museums (NHMs). These samples can be used for routine analysis as well as for screening studies using novel analytical techniques and advanced data treatment workflows, such as suspect and non-target screening. The LIFE APEX project has demonstrated how these samples can be used in a cost-efficient way to generate data on legacy compounds and contaminants of emerging concern. Furthermore, it has described quality assurance/control measures to ensure high quality and comparable data, with a view to uses in chemicals risk assessment and management. To increase the visibility of available sample collections and monitoring data from apex predators we developed accessible online database systems. Additionally, the acquired high-resolution mass spectrometric data were stored in a digital sample freezing platform that allows retrospective suspect screening in previously analysed samples for substances that may be of concern/under assessment in the future. These databases provide open access to a wide range of chemical data, for use by regulators, researchers, industry and the general public, and contribute to a stronger link between science and policy.

show abstract

“…Monitoring of contaminants in biota (biomonitoring) aims to reveal the occurrence of chemical substances, residue concentrations, and predominant mixtures. Biomonitoring data can service a range of regulatory purposes, [15][16][17][18][19], including: (a) early warning of bioaccumulation of chemicals of emerging concern (CECs); (b) triggering of more rigorous risk assessments of persistent, bio accumulative and toxic (PBT) substances under Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) [4] using a 'weight-of-evidence' approach; (c) substance assessment, development of guidance in relation to exposure and bioaccumulation and post-market vigilance under the EU plant protection products and biocidal products regulations [5,6]; (d) risk assessment of chemical mixtures in biota-including aggregate, combined and cumulative exposures; (e) assessment of the effectiveness of chemical risk management measures under various EU regulations and international conventions, and of the effectiveness of chemicals regulations overall; (f ) provision of exposure data for priority substances in top predators to provide a reality-check for calculated (theoretical) exposure values under the WFD [10] and MSFD (2008); (g) assessment of the quality of the marine environment under the Helsinki and Ospar Conventions; and (h) identification of potential endocrine disruptor chemicals (EDCs) and substances that are carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction (CMR) and of their potential health effects on biota, to inform species conservation under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives [20,21].…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While most monitoring of chemicals in the environment focuses on water, sediment or on species at low trophic levels, species at higher trophic levels, notably apex predators, such as predatory birds and mammals, are of particular value to exposure assessment. Apex predators offer a number of advantages for the detection and interpretation of chemicals in the environment [19,23,24]: (1 occupying as they do high trophic levels, they integrate contamination across food webs, and across wide spatial scales (most apex predators have large feeding ranges and provide greater insight into persistence, bio-accumulation and (if monitored alongside co-occurring prey species biomagnification,(2 there is also a long history of ecotoxicological research on apex predators and many apex predator species have wellstudied ecological traits, facilitating interpretation of detected contaminant residues; and (3 samples from apex predators are already available in many European sample collections and samples are added each year.. Key taxa for this purpose include seals and cetaceans for the marine environment, otters and piscivorous raptors for the freshwater environment, and raptors for the terrestrial environment as is being demonstrated by the LIFE APEX project (https:// lifea pex. eu).…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of natural science collections in the biomonitoring of environmental contaminants in apex predators in support of the EU’s zero pollution ambition

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The chemical industry is the leading sector in the EU in terms of added value. However, contaminants pose a major threat and significant costs to the environment and human health. While EU legislation and international conventions aim to reduce this threat, regulators struggle to assess and manage chemical risks, given the vast number of substances involved and the lack of data on exposure and hazards. The European Green Deal sets a ‘zero pollution ambition for a toxic free environment’ by 2050 and the EU Chemicals Strategy calls for increased monitoring of chemicals in the environment. Monitoring of contaminants in biota can, inter alia: provide regulators with early warning of bioaccumulation problems with chemicals of emerging concern; trigger risk assessment of persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic substances; enable risk assessment of chemical mixtures in biota; enable risk assessment of mixtures; and enable assessment of the effectiveness of risk management measures and of chemicals regulations overall. A number of these purposes are to be addressed under the recently launched European Partnership for Risk Assessment of Chemicals (PARC). Apex predators are of particular value to biomonitoring. Securing sufficient data at European scale implies large-scale, long-term monitoring and a steady supply of large numbers of fresh apex predator tissue samples from across Europe. Natural science collections are very well-placed to supply these. Pan-European monitoring requires effective coordination among field organisations, collections and analytical laboratories for the flow of required specimens, processing and storage of specimens and tissue samples, contaminant analyses delivering pan-European data sets, and provision of specimen and population contextual data. Collections are well-placed to coordinate this. The COST Action European Raptor Biomonitoring Facility provides a well-developed model showing how this can work, integrating a European Raptor Biomonitoring Scheme, Specimen Bank and Sampling Programme. Simultaneously, the EU-funded LIFE APEX has demonstrated a range of regulatory applications using cutting-edge analytical techniques. PARC plans to make best use of such sampling and biomonitoring programmes. Collections are poised to play a critical role in supporting PARC objectives and thereby contribute to delivery of the EU’s zero-pollution ambition.

show abstract

Population-level impacts of chemical contaminants on apex avian species

Abstract: The NERC and CEH trademarks and logos ('the Trademarks') are registered trademarks of NERC in the UK and other countries, and may not be used without the prior written consent of the Trademark owner.

Cited by 17 publications

References 30 publications

Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany

Spatial variation of rodenticides and emerging contaminants in blood of raptor nestlings from Germany

Using environmental monitoring data from apex predators for chemicals management: towards harmonised sampling and processing of archived wildlife samples to increase the regulatory uptake of monitoring data in chemicals management

The role of natural science collections in the biomonitoring of environmental contaminants in apex predators in support of the EU’s zero pollution ambition

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About