Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and non-ortho-PCBs in eggs of white-tailed sea eagles collected along the Swedish coast in the Baltic Sea

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 438; pp. 166 - 173
• Main Authors: Nordlöf, Ulrika, Helander, Björn, Zebühr, Yngve, Bignert, Anders, Asplund, Lillemor
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Kidlington Elsevier B.V 01-11-2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Aves; Back propagation; Baltic Sea; Benzofurans - analysis; Benzofurans - toxicity; Biological and medical sciences; Chromatography, Gas; Coastal environments; Congeners; Dioxins - analysis; Dioxins - toxicity; Eagles - metabolism; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Eggs; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Environmental Monitoring - statistics & numerical data; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Environmental Pollutants - toxicity; Equivalence; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General aspects; Greenland; Impairment; Lipids; Man and the environment; Naturmiljö och människan; Non-ortho-PCB; Oceans and Seas; Ovum - chemistry; PCDD/F; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - toxicity; Predatory bird; Principal Component Analysis; Reproduction - drug effects; Sweden; Toxicology; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; White-tailed sea eagle; North America; Greenland; Baltic Sea; America; Sweden; ANE, Baltic Proper; ANE, Baltic Sea; AN, Greenland; Predatory bird; PCDD/F; White-tailed sea eagle; Non-ortho-PCB; Baltic Sea; Greenland; Dioxin derivatives; Egg; Polychlorobiphenyls; Persistent organic pollutant; Vertebrata; Halogenated hydrocarbon; Chlorocarbon; Aromatic compound; Non-orrho-PCB; Predator; Aves; Organic compounds
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.07.016

Concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF), and dioxin-like non-ortho-PCBs were measured in white-tailed sea eagle (WTSE) eagle eggs collected along the Swedish coast of the Baltic Sea during the period 1992–2004. The eggs represent two different subpopulations with significantly different nestling brood sizes; the Baltic Proper (BP) with an approximately normal nestling brood size (1.62), and the south Bothnian Sea (sBS) with reduced nestling brood size (1.22) combined with a significantly higher rate of dead eggs. The aim was to investigate if this difference in reproductive outcome was linked to differences in exposure to dioxin-like compounds. Three eggs collected in Greenland in 2000 were included in the study to provide a reference sea eagle population outside of the Baltic Sea region. The concentrations of ∑PCDD, ∑PCDF and ∑non-ortho-PCB in the two subpopulations from the Baltic Sea (BS) region ranged from 0.41–4.1, 1.2–5.3 and 180–970ng/g lipids, respectively, while in the Greenland population the ranges were 0.11–0.16, 0.22–0.33 and 57–83ng/g lipid, respectively. 2,3,4,7,8-PCDF was the predominant congener in all areas and accounted for on average 31–49% of the total ∑PCDD/F concentrations. The total toxic equivalents (TEQ) in sBS WTSEs were higher (approximately 39ng TEQ/g lipid) than reported in eggs for many other birds, and the major contributors to the TEQ in the Baltic Sea were the non-ortho-PCBs. A principal component analysis (PCA) showed a difference in congener pattern between the two Baltic regions that was statistically significant (Hotelling's T2 test). We found no significant differences in the total TEQ between the two populations (sBS–BP) and thus no evidence was found linking the reproductive impairment in WTSE in sBS to the concentrations of PCDD/Fs or non-ortho-PCBs in the eggs.
► PCDD/Fs levels in white-tailed sea eagle (WTSE) eggs from the Baltic Sea and Greenland. ► 2,3,4,7,8-PCDF was the predominant congener in all areas. ► The total toxic equivalents (TEQ) in the WTSE were higher than reported in eggs for many other birds. ► The major contributors to the TEQ in the Baltic Sea were the non-ortho-PCBs.