Temporal trends of organochlorines and mercury in seabird eggs from the Canadian Arctic, 1975–2003

Abstract

Organochlorine pesticides, PCBs, total mercury and selenium were measured in eggs of thick-billed murres, northern fulmars and black-legged kittiwakes collected from Prince Leopold Island in the Canadian High Arctic between 1975 and 2003. The primary organochlorines found were ΣPCB, p,p′-DDE, oxychlordane, and hexachlorobenzene (HCB). Most of organochlorines analyzed showed either significant declines or no significant change between 1975 and 2003 in all three species. However, significant increases were observed for ΣHCH in the kittiwakes and fulmars, and β-HCH in the murres and fulmars. Mercury increased significantly in eggs of murres and fulmars, whereas mercury in the kittiwakes did not change significantly over the study period. Statistical analyses included stable-nitrogen isotope ratios (δ 15N) to control for any variation in trophic level over time. Although the contaminant concentrations reported in this study are below published threshold values, mercury and β-HCH concentrations continue to increase suggesting that continued monitoring is warranted.