Assessment of Southwestern Atlantic pollution: POPs and Chlorpyrifos in seabirds from the south east of Argentina

QUADRI ADROGUÉ A.; GARCÍA G.; SECO PON J.P.; COPELLO S.; CASTANO M.; MIGLIORANZA K.S.B.

Congreso; SETAC Europe 29th Annual Meeting; 2019

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), such as Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs),polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs)are anthropogenic chemicals used for industrial and agricultural purpose; theywere banned years ago and are regulated under the Stockholm Convention. POPsoccurrence in the environment is of great concern due to their effects onorganisms. Birds feathers constitute a useful non-destructive tool for POPsdetection. There is scarce information about levels of these compounds in birdsfrom the southern hemisphere. The aim of this work was to determine levels ofPOPs and chlorpyrifos in feathers of three seabirds wintering in SouthwesternAtlantic, Olrog's gull (Larus atlanticus), Black-browed albatross (Thalassarchemelanophris) and Cape petrel (Daption capense) and the relationship with sex andspatial distribution. POPs and chlorpyrifos were quantified by gaschromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). All species showed apredominance of chlorpyrifos followed by OCPs, PCBs and PBDEs. This denotesthe importance of agricultural activity in the region. Particularly, the Olrog gullpresented the greatest contaminant levels (X=180,97ng/g), according to itsdistribution, being related to coastal areas, mainly associated to marshes.Regarding to sex differences on pollutants load, only females of Olrog gullshowed lower levels than males (X=100,27; 288,56ng/g respectively), probablybecause of maternal transfer. Differences were also detected among pelagicspecies. Pollutants levels were higher in Cape petrel (X=151,63ng/g) than inBlack-browed albatross (X=80,47ng/g) possibly as a consequence of higher lipidmobilization during migration. In all species, HCHs dominated OCPscomposition, followed by endosulfans (á-/â->1). Among PCBs, tri-, tetra- andpenta- CB were the most abundant congeners in feathers of Olrog gull and Blackbrowedalbatross, while CB 156, CB 180 and CB 183 were the predominant PCBsin Cape petrel. The same PBDEs pattern was observed in both pelagic species,being BDE-47 and BDE-99 the predominant congeners followed by BDE-100;however, BDE-100 was the only PBDE detected in feathers of the Olrog gull.These results are similar to worldwide trends found in birds feathers. Therefore,the organic pollutants occurrence in birds from the southern hemisphere deservesmore attention and long-term monitoring programs are suggested to reduce theirincorporation to aquatic ecosystem