Persistent organic pollutants in forage fish prey of rhinoceros auklets breeding in Puget Sound and the northern California Current

Mar Pollut Bull. 2014 Sep 15;86(1-2):367-378. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.06.042. Epub 2014 Aug 4.

Abstract

Organochlorine contaminants in upper trophic-level consumers inhabiting Puget Sound are consistently higher than in those species inhabiting other west coast locations. We analyzed persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the six most common fish prey of rhinoceros auklets breeding on Protection Island (Puget Sound), Tatoosh Island (WA coast), and Destruction Island (WA coast). Wet-weight concentrations of POPs ranged widely (PCBs: 1.6-25.0 ng/g; DDTs: 0.2-56.0 ng/g; PBDEs:<LOQ-49.0 ng/g), but overall patterns showed fish from Puget Sound were 2-4 times more contaminated and had similar contaminant profiles compared to fish from the outer coast. Unexpectedly elevated PCB and PBDE concentrations in Chinook salmon from the outer coast likely reflected Columbia River. Calculating contaminant loads for auklet nestlings magnified differences observed between inland and outer coast fish prey. Monitoring of breeding auklets, their prey and other resident marine birds is needed to assess biomagnification impacts in the Puget Sound marine ecosystem.

Keywords: Auklet; California Current; Contaminants; Forage fish; Puget Sound; Salmonids.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Body Weight
  • Charadriiformes / physiology*
  • DDT / metabolism*
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods
  • Environmental Monitoring / statistics & numerical data
  • Environmental Pollutants / metabolism*
  • Food Chain*
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / metabolism*
  • Pacific Ocean
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls / metabolism*
  • Salmon / metabolism*
  • Washington

Substances

  • Environmental Pollutants
  • Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
  • DDT
  • Polychlorinated Biphenyls