Temporal variation in circulating concentrations of organochlorine pollutants in a pelagic seabird breeding in the high Arctic

Bustnes, Jan Ove; Bårdsen, Bård‐Jørgen; Moe, Børge; Herzke, Dorte; Hanssen, Sveinn Are; Sagerup, Kjetil; Bech, Claus; Nordstad, Tore; Chastel, Olivier; Tartu, Sabrina; Gabrielsen, Geir Wing

doi:10.1002/etc.3560

Cited by 20 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Significant explanatory variables accounting for most of the variance in patterns were, in decreasing order: colony, δ 15 N and δ 13 C in 2008; and colony, sex, δ 15 N and δ 13 C in 2009 ( Figure S1, Table 2). Male great skuas had higher HOC concentrations compared to females, which is in accordance with findings in other avian wildlife (Bustnes et al 2003, Bustnes et al 2007, Bustnes et al 2017. However, neither the lipid content or sex were found to be major contributors to the inter-colony difference in HOC occurrence in great The lack of a latitudinal or remoteness gradient in concentrations and pattern of HOCs in great skuas is in contrast to abiotic studies (Agrell et al 1999, Meijer et al 2003, Gioia et al 2006) and the few previous studies of geographic distribution of HOCs in biota (Ter Schure et al 2002, Vorkamp et al 2004, Steffen et al 2006, Bustnes et al 2012a).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

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The effect of long-range transport, trophic position and diet specialization on legacy contaminant occurrence in great skuas, Stercorarius skua, breeding across the Northeast Atlantic

Leat

Bourgeon

Hanssen

et al. 2019

Environmental Pollution

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High levels of halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs) have been found in the marine predatory seabird great skua (Stercorarius skua) from breeding colonies in the Northeastern Atlantic, with large unexplained inter-colony variation. The present study aimed at analyzing if the HOCs occurrence in breeding great skuas in remote colonies was explained by local baseline food web exposure determined by long-range transport, or by ecological factors such as diet specialization and relative trophic position in the breeding area. The occurrence of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) was analyzed in plasma of 204 adult great skuas collected over two years (2008 and 2009) and 5 colonies across the North-Atlantic from Shetland to Svalbard. The ΣHOCs levels in plasma ranged across two orders of magnitude, from 40 to 7600 ng/g (wet weight) and differed significantly across the great skua colonies. The variation in contaminant occurrence among colonies did not reflect long-range transport through a latitudinal or remoteness gradient, as the second northernmost colony (Bjørnøya), had the highest contaminant concentrations. No latitudinal or remoteness gradient was evident in the contaminant pattern among the colonies. The contaminant levels increased significantly with increasing δ 15 N values, and regurgitated pellets of undigested prey suggested that great skuas with higher δ 15 N values had a higher proportion of bird prey in their diet, mostly seabirds. In contrast, great skuas from colonies with lower δ 15 N and lower contaminant level fed mostly on fish. The enrichment of δ 13 C increased with decreasing δ 15 N and lower contaminant levels. Therefore, individual behavior of great skuas, such as migration strategies and diet specialization, rather than long-range transport and thus baseline food web exposure, explain among and within colony variance in contaminant occurrence.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 85%

“…Lipophilic HOC concentrations in the blood of birds are known to increase with decreasing body mass and lipid reserves (Bustnes et al 2012b, Bustnes et al 2017. Therefore, differences among colonies in the average body condition of great skuas offer a potential explanation for spatial differences in HOC concentrations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of long-range transport, trophic position and diet specialization on legacy contaminant occurrence in great skuas, Stercorarius skua, breeding across the Northeast Atlantic

Leat

Bourgeon

Hanssen

et al. 2019

Environmental Pollution

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“…Unlike females, males do not have a mechanism to reduce the body burden of contaminants; females are able to excrete contaminants into their eggs. Indeed, several correlational and experimental studies have shown that females can significantly lower their contaminant body burden by excretion into their eggs (Becker ; Bargar et al ; Drouillard and Nostrom ; Verreault et al ; Verboven et al ; Gebbink and Letcher ; Bustnes et al ). Contaminant levels of incubating males are higher than those reported in females, thus posing a greater challenge for males in coping with costly reproductive tasks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Body mass and oxychlordane concentrations are negatively related in male kittiwakes. Previous research shows that birds (including kittiwakes), with high organochlorine burdens generally have poor body condition and are lighter in mass than birds with low organochlorine levels (Henriksen ; Henriksen et al , ; Helberg et al ; Bustnes et al ). When body mass decreases, the lipophilic organochlorines such as oxychlordane, previously stored in adipose tissues, are released into the blood circulation and become very toxic to the whole organism (Henriksen ; Borgå et al ; Nøst et al ; Routti et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the Norwegian Arctic, black‐legged kittiwakes ( Rissa tridactyla , hereafter termed kittiwakes), are chronically exposed to a complex mixture of harmful organic compounds and trace elements, which have already been linked to disruption of reproductive hormones and impaired reproductive performance (Tartu et al , , , ; Goutte et al ; Blévin et al ). Among such complex mixture of chemicals are 1) Hg, a toxic trace element originating from both anthropogenic and natural sources able to disrupt hormones involved in incubation behaviors such as prolactin (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme , ; Tartu et al ); 2) legacy organochlorines (chlorinated pesticides and PCBs), showing decreasing trends in the Arctic, which have been associated with lower incubation temperatures in an Arctic seabird (Helgason et al ; Verboven et al ; Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme ; Bustnes et al ); and 3) the globally increasing poly‐ and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) widely used as surface‐active agents (Kissa ), especially the perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs; Braune and Letcher ; Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme ). Despite the few studies that have investigated the effects of organochlorines and Hg on reproductive behaviors, data are still critically lacking, and, importantly, to our knowledge the consequences of PFAS exposure for incubation behaviors in birds are presently unknown.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Organochlorines, perfluoroalkyl substances, mercury, and egg incubation temperature in an Arctic seabird: Insights from data loggers

Blévin

Shaffer

Bustamante

et al. 2018

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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In birds, incubation-related behaviors and brood patch formation are influenced by hormonal regulation such as prolactin secretion. Brood patch provides efficient heat transfer between the incubating parent and the developing embryo in the egg. Importantly, several environmental contaminants are already known to have adverse effects on avian reproduction. However, relatively little is known about the effect of contaminants on incubation temperature (T ) in wild birds. By using temperature thermistors placed into artificial eggs, we investigated whether the most contaminated parent birds are less able to provide appropriate egg warming and thus less committed to incubating their clutch. Specifically, we investigated the relationships among 3 groups of contaminants (organochlorines, perfluoroalkyl substances [PFASs], and mercury [Hg]) with T and also with prolactin concentrations and brood patch size in incubating Arctic black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla). Our results reveal that among the organochlorines considered, only blood levels of oxychlordane, the main metabolite of chlordane, a banned pesticide, were negatively related to the minimum incubation temperature in male kittiwakes. Levels of PFASs and Hg were unrelated to T in kittiwakes. Moreover, our study suggests a possible underlying mechanism: since we reported a significant and negative association between blood oxychlordane concentrations and the size of the brood patch in males. Finally, this reduced T in the most oxychlordane-contaminated kittiwakes was associated with a lower egg hatching probability. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2881-2894. © 2018 SETAC.

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Assessing Contamination Profiles in Livers from Road‐Killed Owls

Dulsat‐Masvidal,

Lourenço,

Mateo

et al. 2024

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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Raptors are recognised as valuable sentinel species for monitoring environmental contaminants owing to their foraging behaviour across terrestrial and aquatic food webs and their high trophic position. This study monitored environmental contaminants in livers from road‐killed owls to evaluate differences in the exposure patterns due to factors as species, age, and sex of individuals. Carcasses of road‐killed individuals of eagle owl (Bubo bubo), long‐eared owl (Asio otus), little owl (Athene noctua), tawny owl (Strix aluco), and barn owl (Tyto alba) were collected in Alentejo (Portugal). Eighty one organic contaminants were analyzed, including organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pharmaceuticals, in‐use pesticides, and organophosphate esters flame retardants (OPEs). Overall, 21 contaminants were detected. ∑OCPs were prevalent in all species at concentrations from 3.24 to 4480 ng/g ww, followed by PFOS, the only PFASs detected (from 2.88 to 848 ng/g ww) and ∑PCBs (1.98 to 2010 ng/g ww). ∑PAHs were ubiquitous but detected at the lowest concentrations (from 7.35 to 123 ng/g ww). Differences among species were observed according to Principal Component Analysis. Eagle owl and long‐eared owl presented the highest levels of ∑OCPs, ∑PCBs, and PFOS, consistently with its higher trophic position while ∑PAHs prevailed in tawny owl, barn owl and little owl, related with their frequent use of urban areas for nesting and roadsides for hunting. Adults presented higher concentrations of ∑OCPs and ∑PCBs than juveniles, while no differences were observed for PFOS and ∑PAHs. Pharmaceuticals, in‐use pesticides and OPEs were not detected. Overall, this study shows specific contamination patterns in 5 species with similar diet but with differences in habitat preferences.

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Temporal variation in circulating concentrations of organochlorine pollutants in a pelagic seabird breeding in the high Arctic

Cited by 20 publications

References 49 publications

The effect of long-range transport, trophic position and diet specialization on legacy contaminant occurrence in great skuas, Stercorarius skua, breeding across the Northeast Atlantic

The effect of long-range transport, trophic position and diet specialization on legacy contaminant occurrence in great skuas, Stercorarius skua, breeding across the Northeast Atlantic

Organochlorines, perfluoroalkyl substances, mercury, and egg incubation temperature in an Arctic seabird: Insights from data loggers

Assessing Contamination Profiles in Livers from Road‐Killed Owls

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