Age-related accumulation of persistent organic chemicals in captive king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus)

Abstract

Persistent organic chemicals are non-biodegradable in nature and have a tendency to bioaccumulate in the top organisms of the food chain. We measured persistent organic chemicals, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and benzotriazole-based ultraviolet stabilizers (UV-BTs), in the serum of captive king penguins (Aptenodytes patagonicus) using gas chromatography with an electron capture detector and mass spectrometry to examine their age-related accumulation. PCBs, DDE, UV-PS, and UV-9 were detected in the blood of captive king penguins, and the concentrations of total PCBs, DDE, and UV-9 were positively correlated with age. These results suggest that there is a similar age-related accumulation of persistent organic chemicals in marine birds in the wild, and that older individuals are at a higher risk of contamination.

Keywords: benzotriazole-based ultraviolet stabilizers; blood; dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene; marine bird; polychlorinated biphenyls.

Fig. 1.

The analytical procedure of polychlorinated biphenyls and benzotriazole-based ultraviolet stabilizers.

Fig. 2.

The relationships between the measured (a) Σ19 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), (b) dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE), and (c) UV-9 and age. Significant positive correlations between these chemicals and age were found (Σ19PCBs, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, n=8, rho=0.94, P=0.0005; DDE, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, n=8, rho=0.94, P=0.0005; UV-9, Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient, n=8, r=0.77, P=0.03).