Non-invasive biomonitoring of organic pollutants using feather samples in feral pigeons (Columba livia domestica)

Xiana González-Gómez; Jesús Simal-Gándara; Luis Eusebio Fidalgo Alvarez; Ana María López-Beceiro; Marcos Pérez-López; Elena Martínez-Carballo

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115672

Non-invasive biomonitoring of organic pollutants using feather samples in feral pigeons (Columba livia domestica)

Environ Pollut. 2020 Dec:267:115672. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115672. Epub 2020 Sep 17.

Authors

Xiana González-Gómez¹, Jesús Simal-Gándara², Luis Eusebio Fidalgo Alvarez³, Ana María López-Beceiro⁴, Marcos Pérez-López⁵, Elena Martínez-Carballo⁶

Affiliations

¹ Analytical and Food Chemistry Department, Agri-Food Research and Transfer Cluster (CITACA), Campus da Auga, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Vigo, 32004, Ourense, Spain. Electronic address: xgonzalez@uvigo.es.
² Analytical and Food Chemistry Department, Agri-Food Research and Transfer Cluster (CITACA), Campus da Auga, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Vigo, 32004, Ourense, Spain. Electronic address: jsimal@uvigo.es.
³ Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, 27003, Spain. Electronic address: luis.fidalgo@usc.es.
⁴ Department of Anatomy, Animal Production and Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, 27003, Spain. Electronic address: anam.lopez.beceiro@usc.es.
⁵ Toxicology Area, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UEX), Caceres, 10003, Spain. Electronic address: marcospl@unex.es.
⁶ Analytical and Food Chemistry Department, Agri-Food Research and Transfer Cluster (CITACA), Campus da Auga, Faculty of Sciences of the University of Vigo, 32004, Ourense, Spain. Electronic address: elena.martinez@uvigo.es.

PMID: 33254606
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115672

Abstract

A large portion of organic pollutants (OPs) represent a potential hazard to humans and living beings due to their toxic properties. For several years, birds have been used as biomonitor species of environmental pollution. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and pyrethroids (PYRs) were assessed in body feather samples of 71 feral pigeons (Columba livia domestica) collected from Asturias and Galicia (NW Spain). The percentage of detection for all chemical groups were above 90% in studied birds. The general pattern was dominated by PAHs (mean value ± standard deviation (SD) 32 ± 15 ng/g) followed by OCPs (3.8 ± 1.1 ng/g), PYRs (3.4 ± 3.8 ng/g), PCBs (1.6 ± 1.0 ng/g), OPPs (1.3 ± 0.70 ng/g) and PBDEs (0.80 ± 0.30 ng/g). Significant differences were observed between age, location and gender suggesting different sources of exposure and accumulation pathways.

Keywords: Biomonitoring; Feathers; Organic pollutants; PYRs; Pigeon.

MeSH terms

Animals
Biological Monitoring
Columbidae
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollutants*
Feathers
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Humans
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated*
Pesticides*
Polychlorinated Biphenyls*
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons*
Spain

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated
Pesticides
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Polychlorinated Biphenyls