Organochlorine contaminants in the muscle, liver and brain of seabirds (Larus) from the coastal area of the Southern Baltic (original) (raw)
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Residue of chlorinated pesticides in fish caught in the Southern Baltic
Oceanological and Hydrobiological Studies, 2013
The aim of this study was to estimate the residue of chlorinated pesticides in the edible fish caught in the Gulf of Gdańsk and in the Vistula Lagoon. The highest mean concentrations of total DDT were found in the muscles of salmon (331.45 ng g -1 lw.) and sabre carp (306.29 ng g -1 lw.) caught in the Vistula Lagoon, and in the muscles of cod (309.88 ng g -1 lw.) and herring (304.86 ng g -1 lw.) from the Gulf of Gdańsk. Moreover, it was discovered that the following were present in the muscles of fish: DDT metabolites (pp'-DDE and pp'-DDD isomers) as well as hexachlorobenzene and its metabolites and endrin, dieldrin, α-endosulfan isomers and methoxychlor. Pesticides concentrations were higher in the livers of fish than in the muscles, which proves that the removal of toxins from the fish systems dominates over their accumulation. Because no concentration limits for pesticides have been defined, consumer safety assessment of fish caught in the Southern Baltic and in the Vistula Lagoon is not possible. The authors, having * Corresponding author: andrzej.reindl@ug.edu.pl observed an increase in heksachlorobenzen in fish tissues suggested the existence of contemporary sources of pesticides which introduce them into the coastal zone.
Chlorinated herbicides in fish, birds and mammals in the Baltic Sea
Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2015
The aim of the present work was to determine the concentration levels, as well as accumulation and magnification coefficients, of triazine derivatives in herring gulls and Baltic grey seals 11 years after a ban on their use in the EU and eight after their exclusion in Poland. Dead birds were collected in the coastal zone of the Gulf of Gdansk in the years 2010-2012. The grey seals, on the other hand, were from before 2007, when s-triazine derivatives were still in use. Triazine herbicides (atrazine, simazine, propazine, terbutrine, prometrone, prometrine and ametrine) were found in the muscles and livers of birds and mammals and also in fish. The obtained results indicated the presence of all the assayed triazines in whole Baltic herring and their livers, while fish muscles were found to be free of prometrone and ametrine. In the muscles and liver of the grey seal, no ametrine, propazine or terbutrine were found, while prometrine was found in the liver of only one specimen. Research showed that simazine did not accumulate and magnify in marine birds and mammals. Atrazine became accumulated in the liver of birds and mammals while magnification was determined in their muscles. The accumulation of ametrine was found in the muscles of seals.
Environmental Pollution, 2003
Levels of eight PCB congeners and thirteen organochlorine pesticides were measured in eggs sampled at four yellow-legged gull colonies from the Aegean Sea (NorthEastern Mediterranean) in 1997. There were no significant differences among colony areas in the median concentrations in any of the pollutants whereas cluster analyses did not generally reveal reasonable pollution patterns. The maximum concentrations of four congeners were found at Kinaros colony and of nine compounds were found at Lipsos colony. Fingerprints in both groups were similar in all areas. Of PCBs, congener 28, 118, 138, 180 and of pesticides b-BHC and 2,4 0-DDD were prominently dominant suggesting a particular pollution pattern in this region. Statistically significant correlations were found between most of the higher PCBs in all areas studied. The DDT metabolites correlated mostly with other OCs. We suggest that regional pollution by both groups is not adequately reflected in the eggs of this gull probably due to its extensive scavenging habits and, though information is needed from more colonies, it seems to be a poor biomonitor for organochlorines in this region.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2000
To study possible biochemical effects of organochlorine contaminants (OCs) in glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), 40 adult individuals were collected from colonies on Bjørnøya in the Barents Sea. OCs (four pesticides and nine PCB congeners), microsomal 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity, microsomal testosterone hydroxylation, highly carboxylated porphyrins (HCPs), retinol, and retinyl palmitate were quantified in liver samples. The hepatic vitamin A stores in glaucous gulls were larger than in herring gulls (Larus argentatus) from other studies conducted in contaminated locations in North America. No significant relationships were found between liver retinoid concentrations and OC levels. The hepatic EROD activity was low compared to other studies on fisheating birds and only marginally associated with PCB levels. Microsomal testosterone hydroxylase activity was only observed at the 6-position and could not be related to OC levels. The low P450-associated enzyme activities in the glaucous gull suggests that they have a low capacity for metabolizing OCs, which may contribute to the high accumulation of OCs in this species. HCPs were only elevated (138 pmol g Ϫ1 ) in the sample with highest OC levels, whereas the remaining samples contained low levels of HCPs (Ͻ30 pmol g Ϫ1 ). The weak association between EROD activity and PCB levels and the low level of HCPs suggest that these biochemical parameters were unaffected by OCs in most of the sampled gulls. Thus, the glaucous gull seems not to be particularly sensitive toward Ah-receptor mediated effects.
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2011
Feather and muscle of 10 avian species (n = 46), were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs). Muscle contained significantly higher PCB and OCP than liver and feather. Mean muscle and feather PCB was 408.5 ± 134.5 and 32 ± 4.5 ng/g wet weight. Highly chlorinated PCBs were found in muscle and liver while feather had PCBs with less chlorination. Gulls had highest levels of both pollutants. Gull feather PCB and OCP were strongly correlated with their levels in the liver and muscle tissues (0.6 \ r \ 0.9, p \ 0.01). Analysis of gull feather can be used as a noninvasive method for monitoring organic pollutants.
Environmental Toxicology and …, 1989
Apparent biomagnification factors (BMFs, wet weight basis) for organochlorine compounds in herring gulls (Lams argentatus) in Lake Ontario were shown to be related to chlorine substitution patterns in the case of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs). PCBs accumulated according to the availability of adjacent positions not substituted with chlorine: (a) para-meta unsubstituted (P group), mean BMF 20 k 6.2; (b) meta-ortho unsubstituted (M group), mean BMF 87 k 36; and (c) no adjacent unsubstituted positions (blocked, B group), mean BMF 154 * 39. Among the other organochlorines, DDT, cis-and trans-nonachlor, dieldrin and octachlorostyrene magnified to the least extent (BMF 3-19), and photomirex, mirex and DDE magnified to the greatest extent (BMF 85-100). Of the PCDDs and PCDFs, 2,3,7,8-TCDD and 2,3,4,7,8-PnCDF biomagnified to a greater degree than did other congeners (BMF 32 and 7, respectively). There were no significant differences among eggto-whole-body ratios (mean 0.60 * 0.11, lipid weight basis) for any of the organochlorines except PCDDs and PCDFs, indicating that partitioning among lipid pools in the body is the main determining factor in tissue distribution. Egg-to-whole-body ratios for PCDDs (mean 1.2 * 0.33) and PCDFs (mean 0.87 k 0.02) were higher than but not significantly different from those for other organochlorines. Liver-to-whole-body ratios (mean 0.80 f 0.16) also did not differ significantly among organochlorines, except that heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin, PCDDs and PCDFs had higher ratios. The mean fraction of the total body burden of PCDDs and PCDFs contained in the liver ranged from 5 to 55%, compared with 1 to 5% among the other organochlorines, and it increased with degree of chlorination. Keywords-Biomagnification Herring gull Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the alewife samples. H. Won and M. Simon carried out the chemical analyses, and B. Collins performed the statistical analyses.
2012
Aquatic birds are often used as a health indi-cator of the marine ecosystem. African penguins living in the zoo make good research material as they form a link between the marine and the terrestrial ecosystem in terms of xenobiotic circulation. Tests were performed on whole herring—the food of the penguins—as well as on bird muscle, liver, brain, eggs, feathers and guano in order to determine total mercury, aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, isodrin, endosulfan isomers, endosulfan sulfate, me-thoxychlor, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its metabolites. In herring and penguin, the tests did not show the presence of β-endosulfan, endosulfan sulfate, aldrin and isodrin. It was shown that penguins absorb about 36.8 μg of organochlorine pesticides and 4.6 μg of mercury with their food on a daily basis. Xenobiotics accumulate mostly in the liver, from where they are transported to the muscles and the brain, where the highest bioaccumulation factor is reached by endrin and pp’-DDT. Concei...