Persistent organic pollutants in eggs of black- tailed gull from its breeding sites along the Korean coast

Abstract

Eggs have been used successfully as a non-destructive monitoring tool for persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals. Seabird eggs have long been used as biomonitors for longterm monitoring of environmental contaminants in theEurope and North America. In South Korea, national monitoring program on environmental contaminants has been run primarily for coastal sediment and bivalves, while biomonitoring program for high-tropic marine species such as marine mammals and seabirds has not been established yet. The purpose of this study was to monitor seabird eggs inhabiting along the Korean coasts to identify the levels and profiles of contaminants. Black-tailed gull eggs were collected from breeding places located in the southern (Hongdo Island), eastern (Dokdo Island), and western (Seomando Island) coasts of South Korea and egg content was used for chemical analysis. Among the target analytes, PCBs and DDTs showed highest levelsat all sites, indicating their great bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential. The concentrations of PBDEs and HBCDs in eggs were found to be relatively higher at Seomando compared to other two sites and the levels of PCBs and OCPswere similar among locations. The concentrations of PBDEs and HBCDs were still lower than PCBs and DDTs, but relatively higher than other POPs. The relatively persistent isomers or congeners of each compound such as p,p’- DDE, β-HCH, B