INVESTIGADORES
LAMBERTUCCI Sergio Agustin
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Environmental Contaminants in Feather of Avian Scavengers from Patagonia, Argentina
Autor/es:
MARTÍNEZ-LÓPEZ E; ESPÍN S; GÓMEZ-RAMÍREZ, P.; BARBAR, F.; LAMBERTUCCI, S.A.; GARCÍA-FERNÁNDEZ, A.J.
Lugar:
Bariloche
Reunión:
Congreso; I Worldwide Raptor Conference; 2013
Resumen:
Individual organisms, populations, biocoenoses and ecosystems are naturally influenced by many stressors. Exposure to environmental pollutants like organohalogen compounds and heavy metals has frequently been associated with population declines in several species. This has led to legal restrictions and subsequent decreases of pollutant concentrations both in the environment and in bird tissues. The relatively low cost of insecticides and predominant productive activity in American countries, make organoclorines (OC) the most used pesticides in agricultural and phytosanitary control programs in South America. For raptors, OC consumption from prey, together with lead consumption from carcasses, can be very high in areas such as Patagonia, Argentina, where commercial hunting is increasing. Nevertheless, contaminant studies of raptors in Argentina are scarce. The aim of this study was to estimate exposure to these compounds in raptors in Patagonia, Argentina. We tested for OC pollutants including hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) isomers, endosulfan , aldrin, dieldrin, endrin, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (p,p?-DDT), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane (p,p?-DDD), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p?-DDE), heptachlor and heptachlor-epoxide, and heavy metals (cadmium, lead, mercury, copper and zinc) in 90 primary wing feathers of three raptor species: Coragyps atratus, Cathartes aura and Polyborus plancus. Feathers were collected during austral spring of 2011 in roosting and nesting areas from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. We detected all OCs sought in the sampled feathers. The highest concentration and detection frequency was for the Endosulfan (90% of samples), one of the insecticides most commonly used in the country. A total ban of Endosulfan is scheduled for December 2015. We found metals in similar concentrations as reported for other species, however in some cases lead concentrations were higher than concentrations linked to toxicological effects. Results on both types of pollutants call special attention to the conservation of raptors in this part of the world.