Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific
Abstract The presence and accumulation of persistent contaminants at high latitudes from long‐range transport is an important environmental issue. Atmospheric transport has been identified as the source of pollutants in several arctic ecosystems and has the potential to severely impact high‐latitude...
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crwiley:10.1897/03-182 2024-09-15T17:36:26+00:00 Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific Rocque, Deborah A. Winker, Kevin 2004 http://dx.doi.org/10.1897/03-182 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1897%2F03-182 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1897/03-182 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry volume 23, issue 3, page 759-766 ISSN 0730-7268 1552-8618 journal-article 2004 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1897/03-182 2024-07-02T04:10:09Z Abstract The presence and accumulation of persistent contaminants at high latitudes from long‐range transport is an important environmental issue. Atmospheric transport has been identified as the source of pollutants in several arctic ecosystems and has the potential to severely impact high‐latitude populations. Elevated levels of contaminants in Aleutian Island avifauna have been documented, but the great distance from potential industrial sources and the region's complex military history have confounded identification of contaminant origins. We sampled bird species across the natural longitudinal transect of the Aleutian Archipelago to test three contaminant source hypotheses. We detected patterns in some polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and mercury that indicate abandoned military installations as likely local point sources. Carbon isotopes were distinct among island groups, enabling us to rule out transfer through migratory prey species as a contaminant source. The long‐range transport hypothesis was supported by significant west‐to‐east declines in contaminant concentrations for most detected organochlorines and some trace metals. Although relatively low at present, concentrations may increase in Aleutian fauna as Asian industrialization increases and emitted contaminants are atmospherically transported into the region, necessitating continued monitoring in this unique ecosystem. Article in Journal/Newspaper Aleutian Island Wiley Online Library Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 23 3 759 766 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
description |
Abstract The presence and accumulation of persistent contaminants at high latitudes from long‐range transport is an important environmental issue. Atmospheric transport has been identified as the source of pollutants in several arctic ecosystems and has the potential to severely impact high‐latitude populations. Elevated levels of contaminants in Aleutian Island avifauna have been documented, but the great distance from potential industrial sources and the region's complex military history have confounded identification of contaminant origins. We sampled bird species across the natural longitudinal transect of the Aleutian Archipelago to test three contaminant source hypotheses. We detected patterns in some polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and mercury that indicate abandoned military installations as likely local point sources. Carbon isotopes were distinct among island groups, enabling us to rule out transfer through migratory prey species as a contaminant source. The long‐range transport hypothesis was supported by significant west‐to‐east declines in contaminant concentrations for most detected organochlorines and some trace metals. Although relatively low at present, concentrations may increase in Aleutian fauna as Asian industrialization increases and emitted contaminants are atmospherically transported into the region, necessitating continued monitoring in this unique ecosystem. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rocque, Deborah A. Winker, Kevin |
spellingShingle |
Rocque, Deborah A. Winker, Kevin Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific |
author_facet |
Rocque, Deborah A. Winker, Kevin |
author_sort |
Rocque, Deborah A. |
title |
Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific |
title_short |
Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific |
title_full |
Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific |
title_fullStr |
Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific |
title_full_unstemmed |
Biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the North Pacific |
title_sort |
biomonitoring of contaminants in birds from two trophic levels in the north pacific |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1897/03-182 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1897%2F03-182 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1897/03-182 |
genre |
Aleutian Island |
genre_facet |
Aleutian Island |
op_source |
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry volume 23, issue 3, page 759-766 ISSN 0730-7268 1552-8618 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1897/03-182 |
container_title |
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |
container_volume |
23 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
759 |
op_container_end_page |
766 |
_version_ |
1810489623613276160 |