PCBs in the eggs of Eurasian Kestrels indicate exposure to local pollution

Dell'Omo, Giacomo; Costantini, David; Wright, Julian; Casagrande, Stefania; Shore, Richard F.. 2008 PCBs in the eggs of Eurasian Kestrels indicate exposure to local pollution. Ambio, 37 (6). 452-456. https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447(2008)37[455:PITEOE]2.0.CO;2

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Abstract/Summary

Fail-to-hatch kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) eggs collected at the end of the 1999 and 2005 breeding seasons from nest boxes in and around the city of Rome, Italy, were analyzed by gas chromatography with electron capture detection for their PCB content and for the presence of DDT derivatives and other organochlorines. Among the various PCBs, congeners 153 and 180 were detected in all the eggs and showed the highest concentrations. Eggs collected from the same nest from a polluted location in Rome during 2 different years showed similar type and number of PCB congeners. These data and the fact that eggs from another nest near a sulphate mine had, atypically, lowchlorinated congeners support the conclusion that eggs of this species, whose adults in the Mediterranean and continental Europe perform only short or no migration movements, might be indicative of local pollution. When multiple eggs in the same clutch were analyzed, the PCBs were similar in type but their concentration decreased within clutch, likely in parallel to the laying order.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447(2008)37[455:PITEOE]2.0.CO;2
Programmes:	CEH Programmes pre-2009 publications > Biogeochemistry
UKCEH and CEH Sections/Science Areas:	Shore
ISSN:	0044-7447
Additional Keywords:	kestrel, PCB, raptor, pollution
NORA Subject Terms:	Zoology Ecology and Environment
Date made live:	09 Oct 2008 15:32 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/4241

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