Biochemical indicators of contaminant exposure in birds and turtles of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River
- Canadian Wildlife Service, Burlington, Ontario (Canada)
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Hull, Quebec (Canada)
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA (United States)
Pre-fledgling chicks of tree swallows, double-crested cormorants, herring gulls, common terns and hatchling snapping turtles were collected from contaminated Areas of Concern and reference sites in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River to determine the geographic and species variation in biomarker responses. EROD activity in colonial waterbirds was generally an order of magnitude above EROD activity in tree swallows and snapping turtles. Notably, EROD activity in colonial waterbirds did not correlate with organochlorine contamination in livers at one industrialized site suggesting that exposure to other contaminants, possibly PAHs, may be an important factor. Retinol concentrations in cormorants were non-detectable and retinyl palmitate concentrations were equal or greater than those in herring gulls. In tree swallows, there was a significant negative correlation between vitamin A concentration in liver and kidney and EROD activity. In snapping turtles, there was a significant induction in EROD activity and significantly higher cytochrome P450 IAI level in livers from the Great Lakes site relative to a clean inland location. There were no significant differences in porphyrin concentrations between sites.
- OSTI ID:
- 218468
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
56 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
APPLIED STUDIES
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
BIOLOGICAL MARKERS
BIOLOGICAL STRESS
BIRDS
ENZYME ACTIVITY
GENETIC VARIABILITY
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATIONS
GREAT LAKES
MIXED-FUNCTION OXIDASES
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
ST LAWRENCE RIVER
TURTLES
WATER POLLUTION