Facilitated Leaching of Additive-Derived PBDEs from Plastic by Seabirds’ Stomach Oil and Accumulation in Tissues

Our previous study suggested the transfer of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants from ingested plastics to seabirds’ tissues. To understand how the PBDEs are transferred, we studied leaching from plastics into digestive fluids. We hypothesized that stomach oil, which is present in the digestive tract of birds in the order Procellariiformes, acts as an organic solvent, facilitating the leaching of hydrophobic chemicals. Pieces of plastic compounded with deca-BDE were soaked in several leaching solutions. Trace amounts were leached into distilled water, seawater, and acidic pepsin solution. In contrast, over 20 times as much material was leached into stomach oil, and over 50 times as much into fish oil (a major component of stomach oil). Analysis of abdominal adipose, liver tissue, and ingested plastics from 18 wild seabirds collected from the North Pacific Ocean showed the occurrence of deca-BDE or hexa-BDEs in both the tissues and the ingested plastics in three of the birds, suggesting transfer from the plastic to the tissues. In birds with BDE209 in their tissues, the dominance of BDE207 over other nona-BDE isomers suggested biological debromination at the meta position. Model calculation of PBDE exposure to birds based on the results of the leaching experiments combined with field observations suggested the dominance of plastic-mediated internal exposure to BDE209 over exposure via prey

Contaminants in Tracked Seabirds Showing Regional Patterns of Marine Pollution

Ocean-scale monitoring of pollution is challenging. Seabirds are useful indicators because they travel over a broad foraging range. Nevertheless, this coarse spatial resolution is not fine enough to discriminate pollution in a finer scale. Previous studies have demonstrated that pollution levels are higher in the Sea of Japan and South and East China Seas than the Northen Pacific Ocean. To test these findings in a wide-ranging animal, we tracked streaked shearwaters (<i>Calonectris leucomelas</i>) from four islands in Japan using global positioning system (GPS) and measured persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the oil of their preen glands. The POPs did not change during 6 to 21 days when birds from Awashima were foraging only in the Sea of Japan, while it increased when they crossed to the Pacific through the Tsugaru Strait and foraged along the eastern coast of Hokkaido where industrial cities occur. These results indicate that POPs in the oil reflect relatively short-term exposure. Concentrations of POPs displayed greater variation among regions. Total polychlorinated biphenyls were highest in birds foraging in a small area of the semiclosed Seto Inland Sea surrounded by urbanized coast, <i>p,p</i>′-dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was highest in birds foraging in the East China Sea, and total hexachlorocyclohexanes were highest in birds foraging in the Sea of Japan. All were lowest in birds foraging in the Pacific. This distribution of POPs concentration partly agrees with previous findings based on mussels, fish, and seawater and possibly reflects the mobility and emission sources of each type of POP. These results highlight the importance of information on the foraging area of highly mobile top predators to make them more effective monitors of regional marine pollution