title: Halogenated organic contaminants and their correlations with circulating thyroid hormones in developing Arctic seabirds.
abstract: Thyroid hormones are essential for normal growth and development and disruption of thyroid homeostasis can be critical to young developing individuals. The aim of the present study was to assess plasma concentrations of halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs) in chicks of two seabird species and to investigate possible correlations of HOCs with circulating thyroid hormone (TH) concentrations. Plasma from black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) and northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis) chicks were sampled in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard in 2006. The samples were analyzed for thyroid hormones and a wide range of HOCs (polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hydroxylated (OH-) and methylsulphoned (MeSO-) PCB metabolites, organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs), and perfluorinated compounds (PFCs)). Concentrations of HOCs were generally low in kittiwake and fulmar chicks compared to previous reports. HOC concentrations were five times higher in fulmar chicks compared to in kittiwake chicks. PFCs dominated the summed HOCs concentrations in both species (77% in kittiwakes and 69% in fulmars). Positive associations between total thyroxin (TT4) and PFCs (PFHpS, PFOS, PFNA) were found in both species. Although correlations do not implicate causal relationships per se, the correlations are of concern as disruption of TH homeostasis may cause developmental effects in young birds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway. zhn@nilu.no
authors.forename: Therese Haugdahl
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Nøst
authors.forename: Lisa Bjørnsdatter
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Helgason
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Harju
authors.forename: Eldbjørg S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Heimstad
authors.forename: Geir Wing
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Gabrielsen
authors.forename: Bjørn Munro
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Jenssen
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001110:Arctic Regions; D001717:Birds / Q000097:blood*; D001837:Body Weights and Measures; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000097:blood*; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated / Q000097:blood*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D011863:Radioimmunoassay; D013045:Species Specificity; D013963:Thyroid Hormones / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated; D013963:Thyroid Hormones