Contaminant residues in seabird eggs from the Canadian Arctic. Part I. Temporal trends 1975-1998

Abstract

Concentrations of total mercury, selenium and a suite of organochlorine compounds were measured in eggs of thick-billed murres (Uria lomvia), northern fulmars (Fulmarus glacialis) and black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) collected on Prince Leopold Island in Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, Canada, between 1975 and 1998. Mercury levels in thick-billed murre and northern fulmar eggs increased significantly during this period while selenium concentrations decreased significantly in northern fulmar eggs. Mercury and selenium concentrations in black-legged kittiwake eggs exhibited no significant temporal trends. Concentrations of sigma PCB, sigma DDT and total chlorobenzenes decreased over time for all three species and there was a shift in the PCB congener pattern as the hexachlorobiphenyl fraction of sigma PCB increased and the lower chlorinated biphenyl fraction decreased. Total chlordane, dieldrin and mirex concentrations decreased in kittiwake eggs while no significant trends were observed for the other two species. Increases in sigma HCH levels were detected in thick-billed murre eggs but not in northern fulmar and black-legged kittiwake eggs. Levels of the beta-HCH isomer, however, increased significantly in murres and fulmars. Stable-nitrogen isotope analyses (delta 15N) indicate that the temporal trends observed for contaminant concentrations in eggs were not the result of shifts in trophic level. Changing deposition patterns of xenobiotic compounds over the summer and winter ranges of these birds provide a likely explanation for differing exposures through time.