Integrated exposure assessment of northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) nestlings to legacy and emerging organic pollutants using non-destructive samples

White-Tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) Body Feathers Document Spatiotemporal Trends of Perfluoroalkyl Substances in the Northern Environment

“…Significant associations between PFDA, PFDoDA, and PFTrDA in plasma and body feathers have been shown in nestling white-tailed eagles as well, whereas a lack of such association between feathers and internal tissues has also been reported . Strong and significant correlations were found between feather and plasma in nestling northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) for PFOS, PFUnDA, PFDoDA, and PFTeDA but not for PFHxS, PFNA, or PFTrDA . These results suggest that the usefulness of feathers for biomonitoring PFAS might be compound-specific.…”

“…Museum collections or specimen banks have high potential to retrospectively construct temporal trends of PFAS, as shown by studies using archived bird eggs. − Compared to eggs, feathers are not only nondestructive and minimally invasive but also more economical in terms of storage and transportation. Moreover, feathers are available in relatively large quantities from museum collections, allowing for the systematic sampling for long-term trend studies as has been shown repeatedly in mercury monitoring. − Museum feathers have been frequently used to reconstruct temporal trends in foraging ecology, for example, food chain or habitat source and trophic level (as proxied by feather stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes, respectively). − The usefulness of feathers for biomonitoring of legacy organochlorines (OCs) has also been demonstrated. − Recently, several studies have also explored the potential of feathers to monitor PFAS and found significant correlations between feather and plasma concentrations of certain homologues, which suggests the feasibility of using feathers. − However, the usefulness of feathers to study temporal trends of PFAS has yet to be shown. In addition to temporal trends, studying spatial variation of PFAS is important for the understanding of their dispersal and distribution.…”

Exposure assessment of PFAS‐contaminated sites using avian eggs as a biomonitoring tool: A frame of reference and a case study in the Po River valley (Northern Italy)

“…In contaminant research, at least three main tissues can be safely sampled in living birds with limited stress (depending on the sampling method) and little or no damage: blood, feathers, and claws (i.e., avian “nails”). PFAS have been successfully detected in blood and feathers (Briels et al, 2019; Groffen et al, 2020; Munoz et al, 2017; Sun et al, 2019), and they could be potentially detected in claws too, but the availability of sufficient tissue for the analysis depends on the body mass of the monitored species and often represents a critical issue. For example, the small body mass of most common passerines (~15–20 g) makes it difficult to obtain sufficient blood (at least 0.5–1.0 ml) to be analyzed with standard liquid chromatography‐tandem mass spectrometry (LC‐MS) instruments currently available in most laboratories.…”

Occurrence of Bisphenols and Benzophenone UV Filters in White-Tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) from Smøla, Norway

“…Standards of BPA (≥99%), BPAF (≥99%), bisphenol B (BPB, ≥98%), BPF (≥98%), BPS (≥98%), bisphenol M (BPM, ≥99%), bisphenol P (BPP, ≥99%), benzophenone-1 (BzP-1, ≥99%), benzophenone-2 (BzP-2, ≥97%), benzophenone-8 (BzP-8, ≥98%) and 4hydroxybenzophenone (4-OH-BzP, ≥98%) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Steinheim, Germany). Internal standards (ISs) were purchased from Cambridge Isotope Laboratories (Andover MA, USA): 13 C-isotope of BPA (BPA-13 C 12 ; ≥99%), BPAF (BPAF-13 C 12 ; ≥99%), BPB (BPB-13 C 12 ; ≥99%), BPF (BPF-13 C 12 ; ≥99%), and BPS (BPS-13 C 12 ; ≥98%).…”

“…Nowadays, numerous studies report bioaccumulation of legacy POPs in raptors in Europe: e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorinated pesticides (OCPs) in white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) [6]; PCBs in kites (Milvus milvus) [7]; polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in barn owls (Tyto alba) [8]; and organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPEs) in cinerous vultures (Aegypius monachus) [9]. Recently, per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) were also reported as emerging POPs in barn owls, white-tailed eagles, and northern goshawks (Accipiter nisus) [10][11][12][13]. However, there is little information regarding the accumulation of emerging contaminants in raptors.…”