Brominated and phosphorus flame retardants in White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla nestlings: Bioaccumulation and associations with dietary proxies (δ13C, δ15N and δ34S)

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: Eulaers, Igor, Jaspers, Veerle, Halley, Duncan, Lepoint, Gilles, Nygård, Torgeir, Pinxten, Rianne, Covaci, Adrian, Eens, Marcel
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science 2014
• Subjects: BFR; feather; Haliaeetus albicilla; stable isotopes; PFR; ecotoxicology; atmospheric pollution; Life sciences; Environmental sciences & ecology; Veterinary medicine & animal health; Sciences du vivant; Sciences de l’environnement & écologie; Médecine vétérinaire & santé animale; Norway; White-tailed eagle
• Online Access: https://orbi.uliege.be/handle/2268/161604; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.01.051

peer reviewed Very little is known on the exposure of high trophic level species to current-use brominated (BFRs) and phosphorus flame retardants (PFRs), although observations on their persistence, bioaccumulation potential, and toxicity have been made. We investigated the accumulation of BFRs and PFRs, and their associations with dietary proxies (δ13C, δ15N and δ34S), in plasma and feathers of White-tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla nestlings from Trøndelag, Norway. In addition to accumulation of a wide range of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners in both plasma and feathers, all non-PBDE BFRs and PFRs could be measured in feathers, while in plasma only two of six PFRs, i.e. tris-(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) and tris-(2,3-dichloropropyl) phosphate (TDCPP) were detected. PFR concentrations in feathers (0.95-3,000 ng g-1) were much higher than selected organochlorines (OCs), such as polychlorinated biphenyl 153 (CB 153; 2.3-15 ng g-1) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p’-DDE; 2.3-21 ng g-1), PBDEs (0.03-2.3 ng g-1) and non-PBDE BFRs (0.03-1.5 ng g-1). Non-significant associations of PFR concentrations in feathers with those in plasma (P≥0.74), and their similarity to reported atmospheric PFR concentrations, may suggest atmospheric PFR deposition on feathers. Most OCs and PBDEs, as well as tris(chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP), tris(phenyl) phosphate (TPHP) and tri-(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) were associated to δ15N and/or δ13C (all P≤0.02). Besides δ15N enrichment, δ34S was depleted in nestlings from fjords, inherently close to an urbanised centre. As such, both may have been a spatial proxy for anthropogenic disturbance, possible confounding their use as dietary proxy.