Monitoring organochlorines in blood of sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus) migrating through the Great Lakes
- National Wildlife Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario (Canada)
Blood samples from sharp-shinned hawks (Accipiter striatus) were collected from 1985 to 1989 during the fall migration at Hawk Cliff, Ontario, and during the spring migration at Whitefish Point, Michigan, and analyzed for organochlorine contaminants. The study was designed to investigate the potential of using blood samples from birds of prey trapped by banders as a means of estimating the organochlorine exposure of migrant birds on their breeding and wintering grounds. Mean plasma levels averaged over the entire sample were highest for p, p[prime]-DDE, followed by total polychlorinated biphenyls. Mean levels of DDE, mirex, oxychlordane, heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin, hexachlorobenzene, and PCBs increased significantly in hatch-year birds from their first southward migration to their return flight the following spring as second-year birds. Thereafter, mean residue levels of the more persistent chemicals, including DDE, oxychlordane, and PCBs, did not change significantly between seasons in adult age classes. In contrast, dieldrin and heptachlor epoxide, which have a shorter half-time in the body, increased significantly in the blood of all age classes after each winter and decreased significantly after each breeding season. The results were interpreted in terms of the clearance rates of the compounds as well as the diet of the birds on the breeding grounds. The sharp-shinned hawk is a useful indicator species for contaminant-monitoring programs involving birds of prey.
- OSTI ID:
- 6337659
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States), Journal Name: Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; (United States) Vol. 12:2; ISSN ETOCDK; ISSN 0730-7268
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AGE DEPENDENCE
ANIMALS
AROMATICS
BIOLOGICAL ACCUMULATION
BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
BIRDS
BLOOD
BODY FLUIDS
CHLORINATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
GREAT LAKES
HALOGENATED AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
LAKES
MATERIALS
MIGRATION
ORGANIC CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
SEASONAL VARIATIONS
SENSITIVITY
SURFACE WATERS
VARIATIONS
VERTEBRATES
WATER POLLUTION