PCB, PAH and trace element exposure in barn swallows nesting on the Grand Calumet River, IN, watershed
- National Biological Service, La Crosse, WI (United States). Upper Mississippi Science Center
The Grand Calumet River/Indiana Harbor Canal (GCR/IHC) is an International Joint Commission Area of Concern (AOC) and is heavily contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and trace elements. Barn swallow hatchlings and nestlings were collected from four bridges which span the GCR/IHC and a reference location. PCB and PAH concentrations in hatchlings and nestlings were significantly higher in colonies along the GCR/IHC than the reference colony. For example, mean PCB concentrations in hatchlings and nestlings were significantly higher in colonies along the GCR/IHC than the reference colony. For example, mean PCB concentrations in hatchlings were 0.04 {micro}g/g wet weight at the reference colony and 20.42 {micro}g/g at one colony on the GCR/IHC; mean concentrations of PAHs were 0.05 {micro}g/g at the reference colony and 0.15 {micro}g/g at one colony on the GCR/IHC. PCBs accumulated in nestlings at a rate of 18.2 {micro}g/day at one colony on the GCR/IHC compared to 0.03 {micro}g/day at the reference colony. These data suggest that contaminants in the water and sediment of the GCR/IHC are being incorporated into the vertebrate food chain via aquatic insects. Because the contaminant data in the barn swallow hatchlings and nestlings seem to reflect the sediment chemistry nearby the colony, this study suggests that barn swallows are a useful biomonitoring species for this AOC.
- OSTI ID:
- 462557
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961149--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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