Long-term trends in legacy contaminants in aquatic wildlife in the Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern
Keywords:
Herring Gull, Snapping Turtle, persistent organic pollutants, polychlorinated biphenylsAbstract
Long-term trends in contaminant exposure were examined in eggs of two aquatic-feeding species, the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and the Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina), collected from locations within the Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern, an industrialized area historically associated with high concentrations of legacy persistent organic pollutants, metals and other compounds. Significant declines in concentrations of sum polychlorinated biphenyls, four organochlorine pesticides and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin were evident in Herring Gull eggs collected from nesting colonies within the harbour (range in % declines = 86%–94%) and in Snapping Turtle eggs from two area of concern wetland/creek locations (range in % declines = 36%–89%) from the 1980s to 2012. Temporal trends in polychlorinated biphenyl congener profiles in eggs were examined by grouping polychlorinated biphenyl congeners according to structure-activity relationships based on their susceptibility to be metabolized by the cytochrome P450 system. Significant temporal changes in the percentages of non-metabolizable congeners (i.e. increase) and congeners metabolized by P450 1A enzymes (i.e. decrease) were evident in eggs of both species. It is not clear if these distinct temporal patterns are related to changes in metabolism following reductions in polychlorinated biphenyl burdens or changes in bioavailability of congeners in the environment. Large decreases in contaminant burdens in eggs of these two species at two different geographic scales within the area of concern (i.e. local scale for Turtles and regional scale for Gulls) are reflective of improved environmental conditions within the harbour and support their utility as top-predator wildlife bio-indicator species.
References
Antoniadou, V., Konstantinou, I.K., Goutner, V., Sakellarides, T.M., Albanis, T.A., Bintoudi, E., 2007. PCB levels and accumulation patterns in waterbird eggs and in their prey at Lake Kerkini, a north-eastern Mediterranean wetland of international importance. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 53, 249–260.
Bishop, C.A., Brown, G.P., Brooks, R.J., Lean, D.R.S., Carey, J.H., 1994. Organochlorine contaminant concentrations in eggs and their relationship to body size, and clutch characteristics of the female common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) in Lake Ontario, Canada. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 27, 82–87.
Bishop, C.A., Lean, D.R.S., Brooks, R.J., Carey, J.H., Ng, P., 1995. Chlorinated hydrocarbons in early life stages of the common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina serpentina) from a coastal wetland on Lake Ontario, Canada. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 14, 421–426.
Borlakoglu, J.T., Wilkins, J.P.G., Walker, C.H., Dils, R.R., 1990. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in fish-eating sea birds – III. Molecular features and metabolic interpretations of PCB isomers and congeners in adipose tissues. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. Vol 97C (1), 173–177.
Braune, B.M., Donaldson, G.M., Hobson, K.A., 2001. Contaminant residues in seabird eggs from the Canadian Arctic. Part I. Temporal trends 1975–1998. Environ. Pollut. 114, 39–54.
Burniston, D.A., Jia, J., Charlton, M.N., Thiessen, L., McCarry, B.E., Marvin, C.H., 2016. Trends in Hamilton Harbour suspended sediment quality. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 19(2), 141–149.
Clark, T.P., Norstrom, R.J., Fox, G.A., Won, H.T., 1987. Dynamics of organochlorine compounds in Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus): II. A two-compartment model and data for ten compounds. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 6, 547–559.
de Solla, S.R., Martin, P.A., 2009. PCB accumulation in osprey exposed to local sources in lake sediment. Environ. Pollut. 157, 347–355.
de Solla, S.R., Fernie, K.J., Letcher, R.J., Chu, S.G., Drouillard, K.G., Shahmiri, S., 2007. Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina) as bioindicators in Canadian Areas of Concern in the Great Lakes Basin. I. Spatial distribution of PBDEs, PCBs, and organochlorine pesticides in eggs. Environ. Sci. Technol. 41, 7252–7259.
de Solla, S.R., Weseloh, D.V.C., Letcher, R.J., Hebert, C.E., 2010. Reconcilable differences: the use of reference material to reduce methodological artifacts in the reporting of organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 29, 19–26.
de Solla, S.R., de Silva, A.O., Letcher, R.J., 2012. Highly elevated levels of perfluorooctane sulfonate and other perfluorinated acids found in biota and surface water downstream of an international airport, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Environ. Intern. 39, 19–26.
Gebauer, M.B., Weseloh, D.V., 1993. Accumulation of organic contaminants in sentinel Mallards utilizing confined disposal facilities at Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario, Canada. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 25, 234–243.
Gewurtz, S.B., Backus, S.M., Bhavsar, S.P., McGoldrick, D.J., de Solla, S.R., Murphy, E.W., 2011. Contaminant biomonitoring programs in the Great Lakes region: Review of approaches and critical factors. Environ. Rev. 19, 162–184.
Graham, M., Hartman, E., He, C., Droppo, I.G., 2013. Examining thin layer cap behaviour in a freshwater industrial harbour. J. Soils Sediments 13, 1515–1526.
Hall, J.D., O'Connor, K.M., 2016. Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan Process: Connecting Science to Management Decisions. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 19(2), 107–113.
Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, 1992. Remedial Action Plan for Hamilton Harbour: environmental conditions and problem definition. Second edition of the Stage 1 report. Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Hamilton Harbour Remedial Action Plan, 2002. Remedial Action Plan for Hamilton Harbour: Stage 2 update. Burlington, Ontario, Canada.
Hebert, C.E., Weseloh, D.V.C., 2006. Adjusting for temporal change in trophic position results in reduced rates of contaminant decline. Environ. Sci. Technol. 40, 5624–5628.
Hebert, C.E., Glooschenko, V., Haffner, G.D., Lazar, R., 1993. Organic contaminants in Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) populations from southern Ontario, Canada. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 24, 35–43.
Hebert, C.E., Shutt, J.L., Norstrom, R.J., 1997. Dietary changes cause temporal fluctuations in polychlorinated biphenyl levels in Herring Gull eggs from Lake Ontario. Environ. Sci. Technol. 31, 1012–1017.
Hobson, K.A., 2006. Using stable isotopes to quantitatively track endogenous and exogenous nutrient allocations to eggs of birds that travel to breed. Ardea. 94, 359–369.
Kannan, N., Reusch, T.B.H., Schulz-Bull, D.E., Petrick, G., Duinker, J.C., 1995. Chlorobiphenyls: model compounds for metabolism in food chain organisms and their potential use as ecotoxicological stress indicators by application of the metabolic slope concept. Environ. Sci. Technol. 29, 1851–1859.
Keller, J.M., Kucklick, J.R., Harms, C.A., McClellan-Green, P.D., 2004. Organochlorine contaminants in Sea Turtles: correlations between whole blood and fat. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 23, 726–738.
Lagler, K.F., 1943. Food habits and economic relations of the Turtles of Michigan with special reference to fish management. Am. Midl. Nat. 29, 257–312.
Milani, D., Grapentine, L.C., 2002. Identification of toxic sites in Hamilton Harbour. Environment Canada, Water Science and Technology Directorate, Aquatic Ecosystem Impacts Research Division. NWRI Contribution No. 06-408.
Nagy, K.A., Girard, I.A., Brown, T.K., 1999. Energetics of free-ranging mammals, reptiles, and birds. Annu. Rev. Nutr. 19, 247–277.
Neff, M.R., Stefanoff, S., Bhavsar, S., 2016. Improvements in fish polychlorinated biphenyl and other contaminant levels in response to remedial actions at Hamilton Harbour, Ontario, Canada. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 19(2), 161–170.
Norstrom, R.J., Simon, M., 1991. Determination of specific polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzoburans in biological matrices by gel-permeation-carbon chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In: C. Rappe, H.R. Buser, B. Dodet, I.K. O'Neill (Eds.), Environmental Carcinogens. Methods of Analysis and Exposure Measurement. Vol. II. Polychlorinated Dibenzodioxins and Dibenzofurans, pp. 281–297. World Health Organization, International Association for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France.
Norstrom, R.J., Clark, T.P., Jeffrey, D.A., Won, H.T., 1986. Dynamics of organochlorine compounds in Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus): I. Distribution and clearance of [14C]DDE in free-living Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus). Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 5, 41–48.
Norstrom, R.J., Won, H.T., Van Hove Holdrinet, M., Calway, P.G., Naftel, C.D., 1980. Gas-liquid chromatographic determination of mirex and photomirex in the presence of polychlorinated biphenyls: interlaboratory study. J. Assoc. Off. Anal. Chem. 63, 37–42.
Pakdeesusuk, U., Freedman, D.L., Lee, C.M., Coates, J.T., 2003. Reductive dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls in sediment from the Twelve Mile Creek arm of Lake Hartwell, South Carolina, USA. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 22, 1214–1220.
Reynolds L.M., Cooper, T., 1975. Analysis of organochlorine residues in fish. Water Qual. Param. ASTM STP 573, 196–205.
Richardson, K.L., Lopez Castro, M., Gardner, S.C., Schlenk, D., 2010. Polychlorinated biphenyls and biotransformation enzymes in three species of Sea Turtles from the Baja California Peninsula of Mexico. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 58, 183–193.
Simon, M, Wakeford, B.J., 2000. Multiresidue method for the determination of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and non-ortho substituted polychlorinated biphenyls in wildlife tissue by HRGC/HRMS. Technical Report Series No. 336E. Canadian Wildlife Service, Headquarters, Hull, Québec, Canada.
Sinkkonen, S., Paasivirta, J., 2000. Degradation half-life times of PCDDs, PCDFs and PCBs for environmental fate modeling. Chemosphere 40, 943–949.
Turle, R., Collins, B., 1992. Validation of the use of pooled samples for monitoring of contaminants in wildlife. Chemosphere 25, 463–469.
Turle, R., Norstrom, R.J., Collins, B., 1991. Comparison of PCB quantitation methods: re-analysis of archived specimens of Herring Gull eggs from the Great Lakes. Chemosphere 22, 201–213.
Van den Brink, N.W., de Ruiter-Dijkman, E.M., Broekhuizen, S., Reijnders, R.J.H., Bosveld, A.T.C., 2000. Polychlorinated biphenyls pattern analysis: potential non-destructive biomarker in vertebrates for exposure to cytochrome P450-inducing organochlorines. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 19, 575–581.
Weseloh, D.V.C., Pekarik, C., de Solla, S.R., 2006. Spatial patterns and rankings of contaminant concentrations in Herring Gull eggs from 15 sites in the Great Lakes and connecting channels, 1998–2002. Environ. Monitor. Assess. 113, 265–284.
Weseloh, D.V.C., Moore, D.J., Hebert, C.E., de Solla, S.R., Braune, B.M., McGoldrick, D.J., 2011. Current concentrations and spatial and temporal trends in mercury in Great Lakes Herring Gull eggs, 1974–2009. Ecotoxicology 20, 1644–1658.
Xu, Y., Yu, Y., Gregory, K.B., VanBriesen, J.M., 2012. Comprehensive assessment of bacterial communities and analysis of PCB congeners in PCB-contaminated sediment with depth. J. Environ. Engineering (United States) 138, 1167–1178.
Published
Issue
Section
License
Manuscripts must be original. They must not be published or be under consideration for publication elsewhere, in whole or in part. It is required that the lead author of accepted papers complete and sign the MSU Press AEHM Author Publishing Agreement and provide it to the publisher upon acceptance.
