Persistent organic pollutants and methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers in different tissues of white-tailed eagles (**Haliaeetus albicilla**) from West Greenland

Abstract: We investigated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (e.g. dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and methoxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs), in six matrices (muscle, liver, kidney, adipose, blood, preen oil) of 17 white-tailed eagles...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Pollution
Main Authors: Jaspers, Veerle, Sonne, C., Soler-Rodriguez, F., Boertmann, D., Dietz, R., Eens, Marcel, Rasmussen, L.M., Covaci, Adrian
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2013
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10067/1056910151162165141
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Summary:Abstract: We investigated polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (e.g. dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT)), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and methoxylated PBDEs (MeO-PBDEs), in six matrices (muscle, liver, kidney, adipose, blood, preen oil) of 17 white-tailed eagles from West Greenland sampled between 1997 and 2009. High inter-individual variation in contamination was found (PCBs: 0.491500 μg/g lipid weight (lw), DDTs: 0.23910 μg/g lw, PBDEs: 0.0124 μg/g lw, MeO-PBDEs: 0.0010.59 μg/g lw), mostly due to age-related differences and not to temporal trends. One adult female (age > 5 years) displayed PCB levels up to 1500 μg/g lw in liver, which is the highest concentration ever reported in Arctic wildlife. Muscle generally contained the highest median levels, while adipose tissue displayed the lowest median levels on a lipid basis. No significant differences were found among tissues for MeO-PBDEs. Remarkably, we found distinct correlations (0.62 ≤ r ≤ 0.98; <0.0001 ≤ p ≤ 0.17) between levels of MeO-PBDEs and PBDEs, suggesting similar bioaccumulation pathways of PBDEs and MeO-PBDEs in white-tailed eagles.