Environment Canada, Science & Technology Branch, Pacific Wildlife Research Centre, Delta, British Columbia V4K 3N2, Canada; Department of Biological Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.
Department of Biological Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada.
Sci Total Environ. 2015 Aug 15;524-525:157-65. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.008. Epub 2015 Apr 16.
As urban sprawl and agricultural intensification continue to invade prime wildlife habitat, some animals, even apex predators, are managing to adapt to this new environment. Chemical pollution is one of many stressors that wildlife encounter in urban environments. Predators are particularly sensitive to persistent chemical pollutants because they feed at a high trophic level where such pollution is biomagnified. To examine levels of pollution in urban birds of prey in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, we analyzed persistent organic contaminants in adult birds found dead of trauma injury. The hepatic geometric mean concentration of sum polybrominated diphenyl ethers (∑PBDEs) in 13 Cooper's hawks (Accipiter cooperii) from Greater Vancouver was 1873 ng/g (lipid weight) with one bird reaching 197,000n g/g lipid weight, the highest exposure reported to date for a wild bird. Concentrations of ∑PBDEs, ∑PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and, surprisingly, cyclodiene insecticides were greatest in the urban environment while those of DDE (1,1-dichloroethylene bis[p-chlorophenyl) were highest in a region of intensive agriculture. The level of most chlorinated and brominated contaminants increased with trophic level (δ(15)N). The concentrations of some contaminants, PBDEs in particular, in these birds of prey may have some toxicological consequences. Apex predators in urban environments continue to be exposed to elevated concentrations of legacy pollutants as well as more recent brominated pollutants.
随着城市扩张和农业集约化的持续发展，不断侵占野生动物的主要栖息地，一些动物，甚至是顶级捕食者，也在设法适应这种新环境。化学污染是野生动物在城市环境中面临的众多压力源之一。捕食者对持久性化学污染物特别敏感，因为它们处于食物链的顶端，而这些污染物在食物链中会发生生物放大。为了研究加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省低陆平原地区城市猛禽中的污染水平，我们分析了因创伤而死亡的成年鸟类体内的持久性有机污染物。在大温哥华地区的 13 只库氏鹰（Accipiter cooperii）肝脏中，多溴联苯醚（∑PBDEs）的几何平均浓度为 1873ng/g（脂重），其中一只鸟的浓度达到 197000ng/g 脂重，这是迄今为止野生鸟类报告的最高暴露浓度。∑PBDEs、∑多氯联苯（PCBs）和令人惊讶的是，环二烯类杀虫剂在城市环境中的浓度最高，而 DDE（1,1-二氯乙烯双[p-氯苯基]）在集约化农业地区的浓度最高。大多数氯化和溴化污染物的水平随着营养级（δ（15）N）的增加而增加。这些猛禽体内一些污染物的浓度，特别是多溴联苯醚，可能具有一定的毒理学后果。城市环境中的顶级捕食者仍面临着高浓度的遗留污染物以及最近的溴化污染物的暴露。
