Assessing the trophic ecology and migration on the exposure of cape petrels and Wilson's storm petrels from Antarctica to perfluoroalkylated substances, trace and major elements

Padilha, J.A.G.; Santos, S.; Willems, T.; Souza-Kasprzyk, J.; Leite, A.; Cunha, L.S.T.; Costa, E.S.; Pessôa, A.R.; Eens, M.; E, Prinsen; Torres, J.P.M.; Das, K.; Lepoint, G.; Dorneles, P.R.; Bervoets, Lieven; Groffen, T.

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.117827

Cited by 1 publication

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“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study showing a relationship between PFAS concentration measured at the nesting site and the wintering distribution of individuals, suggesting that PFAS uptake during winter can carry over into the breeding stage of a migratory species. This has been suspected, but never tested, in South Polar breeding seabirds as greater PFAS contamination load was found in transequatorial migratory species compared to species restricted year-round to the sub-Antarctic region. − Carry-over of contaminant burden has, however, been studied for other pollutants. For example, an experimental study on great skuas (Stercorarius skua) showed that organochlorine load in chicks was more influenced by the mother’s exposure on the wintering area, via maternal transfer into the eggs, than by local contamination at the breeding site .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter Tracking Data Suggest that Migratory Seabirds Transport Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to Their Arctic Nesting Site

Léandri-Breton,

Jouanneau,

Legagneux

et al. 2024

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Seabirds are often considered sentinel species of marine ecosystems, and their blood and eggs utilized to monitor local environmental contaminations. Most seabirds breeding in the Arctic are migratory and thus are exposed to geographically distinct sources of contamination throughout the year, including per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Despite the abundance and high toxicity of PFAS, little is known about whether blood concentrations at breeding sites reliably reflect local contamination or exposure in distant wintering areas. We tested this by combining movement tracking data and PFAS analysis (nine compounds) from the blood of prelaying black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) nesting in Arctic Norway (Svalbard). PFAS burden before egg laying varied with the latitude of the wintering area and was negatively associated with time upon return of individuals at the Arctic nesting site. Kittiwakes (n = 64) wintering farther south carried lighter burdens of shorter-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs, C 9 −C 12 ) and heavier burdens of longer chain PFCAs (C 13 −C 14 ) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid compared to those wintering farther north. Thus, blood concentrations prior to egg laying still reflected the uptake during the previous wintering stage, suggesting that migratory seabirds can act as biovectors of PFAS to Arctic nesting sites.

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