A 50-year retrospective of persistent organic pollutants in the fat and eggs of penguins of the Southern Ocean. (October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ellis, Daniel S.; Cipro, Caio V.Z.; Ogletree, Camden A.; Smith, Kathryn E.; Aronson, Richard B.
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 241(2018)
• Page Start: 155
• Page End: 163
• Publication Date: 2018-10
• Subjects: POPs -- DDT -- Penguins -- Antarctica -- Biological indicator; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.05.003
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been spreading to Antarctica for over half a century. Penguins are effective indicators of pelagic concentrations of POPs. We synthesized the literature on penguins to assess temporal trends of pelagic contamination in Antarctica, using fat and eggs to monitor changes from 1964 to 2011. DDT/DDE ratios suggest long-range atmospheric transport. Average DDT in fat (ww) increased from 44 ng g −1 in the 1960s, peaked at 171 ng g −1 in the mid-1980s, and then declined slowly to the present level of 101 ng g −1 . Temporal trends in HCB contamination rose into the 1990s before declining. ∑HCHs in fat was ∼5 ng g −1 from 1960 to 1979, peaking at 33 ng g −1 during the period 1980–1989 before declining to ∼5 ng g −1 from 1990 to present. PCBs rose substantially from 1970 to 2009 in fat, varying more than DDTs and HCB in both fat and eggs. Antarctic penguins are good biological indicators of global DDT and HCB emissions, but the existing data are insufficient regarding HCHs and PCBs. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: DDT concentrations in Antarctic penguins peaked between 1980 and 1985. Different organochlorines showed varying temporal trends through time in penguins. Antarctic penguins are bioindicators of POPs in pelagic food webs. DDT concentrations in Antarctic penguin colonies mimic the global emissions of DDTs. Abstract : Measurements of persistent organic pollutants in the fat and eggs of Antarctic penguins were synthesized to determine trends in the exposure of food webs in the Southern Ocean over the last half-century.