Pelagic seabirds as biomonitors of persistent organic pollutants in the Southwestern Atlantic

[摘要] Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are accumulated through time and can exert different effect on ecosystems. POPs and Chlorpyrifos, a current use pesticide, were assessed in body feathers of males and females of Black-browed albatross (Thalassarche melanophris, BBA) and Cape petrels (Daption capense, CAP) during their non-breeding seasons at the Patagonian Shelf, Argentina. Chlorpyrifos showed the highest values among all pollutants in both species (49.56-84.88 ng g(-1)), resulting from current agricultural practices. The pattern OCPs > PCBs > PBDEs was observed in both species, and CAP showed higher concentrations than BBA probably as a consequence of higher lipid mobilization and pollutants availability during dispersion. Non-significant differences between sexes about POPs levels were found; however a slight tendency was observed, females > males in CAP, and males > females in BBA. More attention and further studies are needed to understand seabirds' physiology and its relationship with the pollutants distribution in their tissues and considering breeding season.

[发布日期] 2019-12-01

[关键词] POPs;Chlorpyrifos;Pelagic seabirds;Feathers;South America