The Magallanic penguin as a bioindicator of organochlorine pesticides and current use pesticide on the northern Argentinean coast.

FERNÁNDEZ FLORENCIA; SECO PON JUAN PABLO; GARCÍA GERMÁN OSCAR; BEATRIZ MIGLIORANZA, KARINA SILVIA

Conferencia; SETAC Latin America 15th Biennial Meeting; 2023

The current agricultural model, based on the simplification of ecosystems, is sustained by the intensive use of pesticides. The environmental dynamics of pollutants lead them to easily reach surface water bodies and eventually coastal areas, affecting the biological integrity of ecosystems. The coastal areas of southeastern Buenos Aires represent an important area of transit and/or feeding for the Magellanic penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) in Argentina. The aim of this work is to evaluate the levels of organochlorine pesticides and chlorpyrifos in body feathers of males and females with different body condition (starvation and nonstarvation) in juvenile penguins, in order to relate contaminant levels with intrinsic factors such as sex and body condition.The determination of these levels was carried out using gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD). Chlorpyrifos showed the highest values among all pesticides analyzed in individuals of both sexes and body conditions, probably due to its recent intensive use. Male specimens showed higher concentrations than females (60.48 ng/g and 41.33 ng/g, respectively). Differences between sexes could be related to differences in exploited areas and/or diets or to the larger size and weight of male individuals, beyond their state of starvation or non-starvation. On the other hand, individuals in a state of starvation of both sexes presented higher concentrations than those in a state of non-starvation (54.40 ng/g and 47.42 ng/g, respectively). This fact may be related to the greater availability of contaminants from fatty tissues during periods of dietary stress. In the case of OCPs, a distribution pattern of contaminants was observed: DDTs > HCHs > Heptachlors +drins > endosulfans > chlordanes. The most commonly found compounds within each group were the p,p´-DDE metabolite, the g-HCH isomer, and the endosulfan Ssulfate. DDTconcentrations were higher in females in good body condition and HCH concentrations in males and females in a state of starvation.Long-term monitoring of agrochemical levels in seabirds is suggested in order to provide information on pesticide dynamics and exposure pathways in these ecosystems. These results may contribute to the development of a tool to promote other possible land uses, which consider the complexity of ecosystems, to be considered as a possible conservation strategy for the seabirds that inhabit the southwestern Atlantic.