Halogenated organic contaminants and their correlations with circulating thyroid hormones in developing Arctic seabirds

Nøst, Therese Haugdahl; Helgason, Lisa Bjørnsdatter; Harju, Mikael; Heimstad, Eldbjørg Sofie; Gabrielsen, Geir Wing; Jenssen, Bjørn Munro

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.11.051

Cited by 59 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 69 publications

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“…Given this perspective, in top predators those emerging POPs could be in higher levels than legacy POPs (e.g. PFC, Nøst et al 2012) and their relationships with the parameters we measured in this study may be exacerbated, taking them into account could provide further awareness on the way environmental pollution may affect free-ranging populations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The stress of being contaminated? Adrenocortical function and reproduction in relation to persistent organic pollutants in female black legged kittiwakes

Tartu

Angelier

Herzke

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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High levels of environmental pollutants such as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including PCB and DDT have been found in the Arctic and many of those pollutants may impair reproduction through endocrine disruption. Nevertheless, their effects on stress hormones remain poorly understood, especially in free-ranging birds. Corticosterone, the principal glucocorticoid in birds, can indirectly impair reproduction. The aim of the present study was to examine the relationships between POPs and reproduction through their potential consequences on different reproductive traits (breeding decision, egg-laying date, breeding success) and corticosterone secretion (baseline and stress-induced levels). We addressed those questions in an Arctic population of female black-legged kittiwakes during the pre-breeding stage and measured several legacy POPs (PCBs and pesticides: HCB, p,p'-DDE, CHL) in whole blood. POP levels were not related to breeding decision neither to breeding success, whereas females with high levels of pesticides laid their eggs earlier in the season. We found a negative relationship between POP levels and body condition index in non-breeding females. Black-legged kittiwakes with higher levels of PCB showed stronger adrenocortical response when subjected to a capture-handling stress protocol.We suggest that PCBs may disrupt corticosterone secretion whereas the positive relationship between pesticides and egglaying date could either originate from a direct effect of pesticides or may be related to other confounding factors such as age or individual's quality. Although no direct negative reproduction output of POPs were found in this study, it is possible that the most contaminated individuals would be more sensitive to environmental stress and would be less able to maintain parental investment than less polluted individuals.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

The stress of being contaminated? Adrenocortical function and reproduction in relation to persistent organic pollutants in female black legged kittiwakes

Tartu

Angelier

Herzke

et al. 2014

Science of The Total Environment

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“…10 PFOS concentrations in the eggs of Baltic Sea guillemots are among the highest ever reported in birds, 11 and they are close to the levels that have been shown to cause adverse effects in other bird species. 12 Furthermore, temporal trend monitoring in Baltic Sea herring (1980–2010) and sea eagle eggs (1966–2010) showed increasing concentrations of PFOS and long-chain perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids (PFCAs, C8–C15) (personal communication, Anders Bignert). There is clearly a need to control PFAA levels in the Baltic Sea environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mass Balance of Perfluoroalkyl Acids in the Baltic Sea

Filipovic

Berger

McLachlan

2013

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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A mass balance was assembled for perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) in the Baltic Sea. Inputs (from riverine discharge, atmospheric deposition, coastal wastewater discharges, and the North Sea) and outputs (to sediment burial, transformation of the chemical, and the North Sea), as well as the inventory in the Baltic Sea, were estimated from recently published monitoring data. Formation of the chemicals in the water column from precursors was not considered. River inflow and atmospheric deposition were the dominant inputs, while wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents made a minor contribution (<5%). A mass balance of the Oder River watershed was assembled to explore the sources of the perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in the river inflow. It indicated that WWTP effluents made only a moderate contribution to riverine discharge (21% for PFOA, 6% for PFOS), while atmospheric deposition to the watershed was 1–2 orders of magnitude greater than WWTP discharges. The input to the Baltic Sea exceeded the output for all four PFAAs, suggesting that inputs were higher during 2005–2010 than during the previous 20 years despite efforts to reduce emissions of PFAAs. One possible explanation is the retention and delayed release of PFAAs from atmospheric deposition in the soils and groundwater of the watershed.

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“…A positive association was found between total thyroxin (TT4) and PFHpS in both species and PFHxS was negatively correlated to the TT3:FT3 ratio. Since the disruption of TH homeostasis may cause developmental effects in young birds, the correlations between the relatively low plasma levels of PFCs and THs found in the study may be of concern on the health related effects of these compounds in seabird fledglings (Nøst et al, 2012).…”

Section: Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonates (Pfsas)mentioning

confidence: 92%

“…In an in vivo study (Nøst et al, 2012), plasma concentrations of a wide range of halogenated organic contaminants, including PFHxS and PFHpS, and their correlations with circulating thyroid hormones (TH) in developing Arctic seabirds was assessed. Plasma from chicks of blacklegged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) was taken and analysed for thyroid hormones.…”

Section: Perfluoroalkyl Sulfonates (Pfsas)mentioning

confidence: 99%