Chiral Organochlorine Contaminants in Blood and Eggs of Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus) from the Norwegian Arctic

Abstract

Glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) and their eggs from Svalbard (Norwegian Arctic) have been used as biomonitors of contaminants in the marine environment. In this study, the enantiomer fractions (EFs) of chiral chlordanes and atropisomeric polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners were determined in the blood plasma of adult male and female glaucous gulls from three breeding colonies in Svalbard. Plasma EFs were similar in magnitude and direction to EFs previously reported in glaucous gulls from other arctic food webs, suggesting overall similarities in the biochemical processes influencing the EFs of bioaccumulated organochlorine (OC) contaminants within the food webs at those locations. Additionally, EFs in yolk of eggs collected concurrently from within the same nesting colonies varied with location, laying date, and OC concentrations, and may be influenced by changes in the local feeding ecology between those colonies. No differences were found between the EFs for any analyte in female gulls compared to those found in egg yolk, indicating that processes involved in the maternal transfer of chlordanes and PCBs to eggs do not modulate the stereochemical ratio between enantiomers. Therefore, the use of eggs as a valuable and noninvasive means of OC biomonitoring may also extend to enantiomer compositions in glaucous gulls, and perhaps also in other seabird species from arctic regions.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in environmental samples from Ny-Ålesund and London Island, Svalbard, the Arctic

“…Principle component analysis (PCA) was applied to investigate specific PCB congeners contributions between different matrices while one sample T-test was used to test for differences between enantiomeric fractions (EFs) and theoretical EFs of racemic mixtures. EFs were calculated using the equation, EFs = (+)/ [(+) + (À)] or EFs = E 1 /(E 1 + E 2 ), where (+) and (À) represent the concentrations of the (+) and (À) enantiomers, and E 1 and E 2 represent the first and second eluting enantiomers in GC column (Ross et al, 2008).…”

“…Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been widely detected in various environmental media and biota in the Arctic (Muir and Norstrom, 2000;Ikonomou et al, 2002;de Wit et al, 2006;Ross et al, 2008). A number of studies pointed out long-range atmospheric transport, ocean currents and precipitation as possible pathways of these pollutants in the Arctic (Fisk et al, 2002;Braune et al, 2007).…”

“…Of the 209 PCB congeners, the twelve dioxin-like and six indicator PCBs were usually concerned due to their high toxicity and high concentrations in the environment. In recent years, 3,3 0 -dichlorobiphenyl (CB-11), an non-Aroclor PCB congener, has attracted great attention due to its ubiquitous presence and specific potential emission sources associated with pigment yellow production (Choi et al, 2008;Ross et al, 2008;Lehmler et al, 2009;Shang et al, 2014 Signature of chiral PCBs provide a useful tool to investigate biotransformation mechanisms of PCBs (Dang et al, 2010). Chiral pollutants exist in two forms as optical isomers, called enantiomers (Fisk et al, 2002).…”

“…Chiral pollutants exist in two forms as optical isomers, called enantiomers (Fisk et al, 2002). Although the two enantiomers have identical physical and chemical properties, they present different biological and toxicological effects in mammals (Ross et al, 2008;Lehmler et al, 2009). They are frequently observed as nonracemic mixtures in various organisms tissues (Ross et al, 2008;Zhai et al, 2011).…”

A review of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) pollution in indoor air environment

“…Of the 209 PCBs congeners, the 12 dioxin-like and 6 indicator PCBs were usually of concern due to their high toxicity and high concentrations in the environment. In recent years, 3,30-dichlorobiphenyl (PCB-11), a non-Aroclor PCB congener, has attracted great attention due to its wide presence and potential emission sources associated with pigment yellow production (Choi et al, 2008b, Lehmler et al, 2010, Ross et al, 2008, Shang et al, 2014.…”