Differences in uptake of persistent pollutants for predators feeding in aquatic and terrestrial habitats

Abstract

Persistent pollutants in mustelid species (e.g. otter, mink, marten) were investigated. For a given animal, concentration of PCB and DDT in muscle were correlated with concentrations in its anal gland secretion. The correlation suggests that small samples of secretion could be used for pollutant analysis thereby eliminating the need to sacrifice animals. There was also a correlation between muscle and liver concentrations of these compounds, indicating a partitioning between different organs.Furthermore, we showed that habitat differences between species led to interspecific variation in the uptake of persistent pollutants. Mink, which mainly feed in aquatic environments, contained a higher proportion of p, p‐DDT than marten, which feeds on terrestrial prey. Differences in PCB uptake were also noted between the two predators, though the congener distribution was heavily domined by a few hexa‐ and heptachlorobiphenyls.