Abstract
The occurrence of organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) in wildlife has received considerable attention over the last decades. Among the matrices used for OHCs biomonitoring, feathers are particularly useful as they can be collected in a minimally or non-invasive manner. In this study, concentrations of various legacy OHCs –polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)–, as well as emerging OHCs –per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPEs)– were determined in feathers of 72 Eurasian eagle-owls (Bubo bubo) from Norway, with the goal of studying spatiotemporal variation using a non-invasive approach. Molted feathers were collected at nest sites from northern, central and southern Norway across four summers (2013–2016). Additionally, two museum-archived feathers from 1979 to 1989 were included. Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen isotopes (δ15N) were used as dietary proxies. In total, 11 PFAS (sum range 8.25–215.90 ng g−1), 15 PCBs (4.19–430.01 ng g−1), 6 OCPs (1.48–220.94 ng g−1), 5 PBDEs (0.21–5.32 ng g−1) and 3 OPEs (4.49–222.21 ng g−1) were quantified. While we observed large variation in the values of both stable isotopes, suggesting a diverse diet of the eagle-owls, only δ13C seemed to explain variation in PFAS concentrations. Geographic area and year were influential factors for δ15N and δ13C. Considerable spatial variation was observed in PFAS levels, with the southern area showing higher levels compared to northern and central Norway. For the rest of OHCs, we observed between-year variations; sum concentrations of PCBs, OCPs, PBDEs and OPEs reached a maximum in 2015 and 2016. Concentrations from 1979 to 1989 were within the ranges observed between 2013 and 2016. Overall, our data indicate high levels of legacy and emerging OHCs in a top predator in Norway, further highlighting the risk posed by OHCs to wildlife.
Highlights
Organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) have been of great concern for several decades
The widespread occurrence of novel OHCs, such as organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPEs) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), have raised concerns surrounding their impacts on ecosystem, human, and wildlife health (D’Hollander et al, 2010; Groffen et al, 2019, 2018; Guigueno and Fernie, 2017; Van den Eede et al, 2011)
We examined spatiotemporal differences in concen trations of various legacy (PCBs, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)) and emerging OHCs (PFAS and OPEs) in feathers of eagle-owls collected across Norway from 2013 to 2016
Summary
Organohalogenated compounds (OHCs) have been of great concern for several decades. Legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including many polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were banned several years ago and despite decreasing levels over time, still occur at high concentrations in wildlife (Bytingsvik et al, 2012; Espín et al, 2016; Jepson et al, 2016; Law and Jepson, 2017; Leat et al, 2019). Despite extensive production over the last 60 years (e.g., for PFAS; Buck et al, 2011), the vast majority of studies examining PFAS and OPEs in wildlife are from the last 20 years (Gomez-Ramírez et al, 2017; Greaves and Letcher, 2017; Guigueno and Fernie, 2017; Monclús et al, 2019) Due to their environmental persistence and extensive application in industrial and consumer products, emerging OHCs occur globally in the environment, including remote Arctic ecosystems (Butt et al, 2010; Lau et al, 2007; Salamova et al, 2014). OPEs are considered compounds of special concern, in part because of their presence in biota (Guo et al, 2018; Su et al, 2015) and their potential toxicity (Greaves and Letcher, 2017)
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