Toxaphene and Other Persistent Organochlorine Pesticides in Three Species of Albatrosses From the North and South Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Toxaphene and other persistent organochlorine (OC) pesticides (chlordane-related compounds [CHL], DDT-related compounds [DDT], hexachlorocyclohexanes [HCH], tris(p-chloro-phenyl)methane, hexachlorobenzene, octachlorostyrene, diel-drin) were determined in fat of Laysan albatross (Diomedea immutabilis) and in fat and eggs of blackfooted albatross (Diomedea nigripes) from the central north Pacific Ocean. The HCH isomers and chlordane-and DDT-related compounds were also determined in eggs of northern royal albatross (Diomedea sanfordi) collected in New Zealand. Toxaphene was detected in fat samples at mean standard deviation (SD) levels ranging from 243 61 ng/g wet weight in Laysan albatross to 1,020 237 ng/g wet weight in blackfooted albatross. These levels were higher than CHL and HCH but lower than DDT. In eggs of blackfooted albatross, toxaphene was the major OC pesticide, averaging 513 ng/g wet weight in two pooled samples compared with 293 ng/g wet weight for DDT. Two toxaphene congeners, the octachloroborane B8-1413 (Parlar 26) and the nonachlorobornane B9-1679 (P50), comprised about 38% of total toxaphene in both albatross species. All OC compounds were present at significantly higher levels in blackfooted than Laysan albatross fat with the exception of HCH, dieldrin, and octachlorostyrene. Mean levels of DDT and HCH in northern royal albatross eggs from New Zealand were 4 and 60 times lower, respectively, than in blackfooted albatross eggs. The pattern of OC pesticide accumulation was consistent with differences in distribution of the three species in the Pacific Ocean, with highest levels in blackfooted albatross, which feed off the west coast of North America, intermediate levels in Laysan albatross, which frequent the western Pacific, and lowest levels in northern royal albatross, which are confined to the southern oceans surrounding the Antarctic.

Toxaphene and Other Organochlorine Compounds in Pintails (Anas acuta) from Saitama Kamoba in Japan during Oct 2000–Feb 2002

“…The compositions were basically the same over the period Oct 2000-Feb 2002, and relatively high concentrations were detected. Oxychlordane (26-34%) and transnonachlor (17-31%) were the major contributors to the overall CHL contamination, in agreement with results for albatrosses from the North Pacific Ocean (Muir et al, 2002). Although heptachlor epoxide (1.6-227 ng g -1 ) was found in all the samples, heptachlor was detected in the range 0.68-2.5 ng g -1 with a low frequency (17%).…”

“…These concentrations were considerably lower than those in Antarctic penguin fat (B8-1413, 34 ng g -1 ; B9-1679, 23 ng g -1 ) (Vetter et al, 2001). In this study, the ratio of [B8-1413]/[B9-1679] ranged from 1.1-2.9, contrasting with those (approximately 1.0) detected in albatrosses from the northern hemisphere (Muir et al, 2002). Although the reason for the dominance of B8-1413 was unclear, we expected that these ratio originated from feeding habits or differences among species.…”

“…As seen in Table 1, the mean residue levels (0.12-0.52 ng g -1 ) of toxaphene were extremely low compared to the other OCs. The minor contribution of toxaphene contrasted with a stronger toxaphene contribution in the data (for albatross fat tissues from the North Pacific Ocean) reported by Muir et al (2002). As we know, however, avian species and sampling locations have been deemed the causes of the major differences in toxaphene contribution between the two sets of data.…”

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, toxaphenes, and other halogenated organic pollutants in great blue heron eggs

“…In Canada, PBDEs have been added to the List of Toxic Substances under Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (1999) and tetra-BDE, penta-BDE and hexa-BDE have been targeted for virtual elimination [28]. Toxaphene levels in heron eggs in the present study were higher than in Canadian Arctic seabirds [29], great egret (Ardea alba), and black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax nycticorax) from the Rio Grande Valley, but lower than in green heron (Butorides virescens) eggs from the Rio Grande Valley [30] and blackfooted albatross (Diomedea nigripes) eggs from the south Pacific Ocean [31]. Mean toxaphene levels of 300 ng/g wet weight were reported in great blue heron eggs from Indiana [32], compared to a mean of 54 ng/g wet weight in great blue heron eggs from the St. Lawrence River.…”

“…Verreault et al [34] found that congeners B8-1412, B8-2229 (Parlar 44), and B9-1679 (Parlar 50) predominated in glaucous gull eggs from the Norwegian arctic. Toxaphene is a persistent OC pesticide that has been widely used in the world until its ban in 1982 in Canada and the United States, and in the early 1990s in Mexico and elsewhere [31]. It has rarely been measured in birds, mainly because of difficulties involved in quantifying this multicomponent mixture [15,33].…”