Centre de recherche en toxicologie de l'environnement (TOXEN), Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, P.O. Box 8888, Station Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P8, Canada.
Centre d'étude de la forêt, Département des sciences du bois et de la forêt, Université Laval, 2405 rue de la Terrasse, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada.
Environ Pollut. 2019 Jan;244:109-117. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.10.003. Epub 2018 Oct 6.
Birds may act as biovectors of nutrients and contaminants at the regional scale and potentially increase the exposure to such substances in ecosystems frequented by these birds. However, no study has estimated biotransport of contaminants by individual birds through their feces (guano). Elevated concentrations of halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) have been reported in ring-billed gulls (Larus delawarensis) breeding near Montreal (QC, Canada)- a known hotspot for HFRs. The objective of the present study was to investigate the concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and selected emerging HFRs (e.g., Dechlorane-related compounds) in guano of individual ring-billed gulls, and to assess the relative accumulation of these HFRs by comparing concentrations in plasma (absorbed) versus guano (excreted). A second objective was to determine the importance of one of the largest ring-billed gull colony (Deslauriers Island) in North America located near Montreal as a vector of HFR biotransport at the regional scale. Elevated concentrations of PBDEs and Dechlorane plus were determined in guano and plasma of ring-billed gulls, although in general no difference was found between males and females. However, plasma to guano concentration ratios were significantly greater in females for the highly hydrophobic BDE-209 and Dechlorane plus compared to males. Overall, for both sexes combined, the total amount of HFRs (sum of the 16 major PBDEs and five emerging HFRs) deposited by this entire colony (64,980 gulls) in the Montreal area through guano during the 28-days incubation period was estimated to 1 g. This study showed that urban-adapted ring-billed gulls from this large colony represent an underestimated biovector of HFRs, which may contribute to augment exposure to these toxic compounds in nearby ecosystems.
鸟类可能在区域范围内充当营养物质和污染物的生物载体，并可能增加这些鸟类出没的生态系统中这些物质的暴露量。然而，尚无研究估计单个鸟类通过其粪便（鸟粪）进行污染物的生物转运。在靠近蒙特利尔（加拿大魁北克省）的环嘴鸥（Larus delawarensis）繁殖地，已报告卤代阻燃剂（HFRs）的浓度升高-这是 HFRs 的已知热点。本研究的目的是调查单个环嘴鸥鸟粪中多溴二苯醚（PBDEs）和选定的新兴 HFRs（例如，氯丹相关化合物）的浓度，并通过比较血浆（吸收）与鸟粪（排泄）中的浓度来评估这些 HFRs 的相对积累。第二个目标是确定位于蒙特利尔附近的北美最大的环嘴鸥栖息地（德拉劳里埃岛）作为区域尺度上 HFR 生物转运载体的重要性。在环嘴鸥的鸟粪和血浆中均检测到 PBDEs 和氯丹加的浓度升高，尽管通常在雄性和雌性之间未发现差异。然而，与雄性相比，BDE-209 和氯丹加的高度疏水性，在雌性中，血浆与鸟粪的浓度比在雄性中显著更高。总体而言，对于所有雌雄混合，通过在 28 天孵育期间鸟粪在蒙特利尔地区排泄，这个整个殖民地（64980 只海鸥）沉积的 HFR 总量（16 种主要 PBDEs 和 5 种新兴 HFRs 的总和）估计为 1g。这项研究表明，来自这个大型栖息地的适应城市环境的环嘴鸥代表了 HFR 的被低估的生物载体，这可能导致附近生态系统中这些有毒化合物的暴露增加。
