Pérez Cristóbal, Velando Alberto, Munilla Ignacio, López-Alonso Marta, Oro Daniel
Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía Animal, Facultade de Bioloxía, Universidade de Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36310 Vigo, Spain.
Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Feb 1;42(3):707-13. doi: 10.1021/es071835d.
In this study we tested the use of seabird blood as a bioindicator of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in the marine environment. Blood cells of breeding yellow-legged gulls (Larus michahellis) were able to track spatial and temporal changes consistent with the massive oil pollution pulse that resulted from the Prestige oil spill. Thus, in 2004, blood samples from yellow-legged gulls breeding in colonies that were in the trajectory of the spill doubled in theirtotal PAH concentrations when compared to samples from unoiled colonies. Furthermore, PAH levels in gulls from an oiled colony decreased by nearly a third in two consecutive breeding seasons (2004 and 2005). Experimental evidence was gathered by means of an oil-ingestion field experiment. The total concentration of PAHs in the blood of gulls given oil supplements was 30% higher compared to controls. This strongly suggested that measures of PAHs in the blood of gulls are sensitive to the ingestion of small quantities of oil. Our study provides evidence that seabirds were exposed to residual Prestige oil 17 months after the spill commenced and gives support to the nondestructive use of seabirds as biomonitors of oil pollution in marine environments.
在本研究中，我们测试了将海鸟血液用作海洋环境中多环芳烃（PAH）污染生物指标的可行性。繁殖期黄腿鸥（Larus michahellis）的血细胞能够追踪与“威望号”油轮泄漏造成的大规模油污脉冲相一致的时空变化。因此，2004年，来自处于泄漏轨迹上的繁殖群体的黄腿鸥血液样本，其总PAH浓度与未受油污影响群体的样本相比增加了一倍。此外，来自一个受油污影响群体的鸥类体内的PAH水平在连续两个繁殖季节（2004年和2005年）下降了近三分之一。通过一项油摄入实地实验收集了实验证据。给予油补充剂的鸥类血液中PAHs的总浓度比对照组高30%。这有力地表明，测量鸥类血液中的PAHs对少量油的摄入很敏感。我们的研究提供了证据，表明海鸟在泄漏开始17个月后仍接触到“威望号”油轮泄漏的残留油污，并支持将海鸟作为海洋环境油污生物监测器的无损使用。
