title: Temporal trends of mercury, organochlorines and PCBs in northern gannet (Morus bassanus) eggs from Bonaventure Island, Gulf of St. Lawrence, 1969-2009.
abstract: Since 1969, northern gannet (Morus bassanus) eggs from Bonaventure Island, Québec, have been collected to monitor concentrations of contaminants. Levels of p,p'-DDE, which caused low breeding success of Bonaventure gannets in the 1960s, decreased by 99.4% from 1969 to 2009 (17.1-0.1 mg/kg ww), with concomitant improvement of hatching success. PCBs, most organochlorines and mercury also showed decreasing trends. Stable isotopes of carbon (δ(13)C) and nitrogen (δ(15)N) were measured to track the possible influence of diet changes on concentrations of contaminants over time. The confounding effect of the combustion of fossil fuels on baseline values of δ(13)C (the Suess effect) was taken into account. No temporal trends were observed in δ(13)C and δ(15)N values in gannet eggs. Hence trophic level or foraging area had a negligible influence on temporal trends of contaminants.
authors.affiliation: Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate, Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada, Québec, Québec G1J 0C3, Canada. Electronic address: louise.champoux@ec.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Louise
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Champoux
authors.affiliation: Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Québec, Québec G1J 0C3, Canada. Electronic address: jean-francois.rail@ec.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Jean-François
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Rail
authors.affiliation: Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate, Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada, Québec, Québec G1J 0C3, Canada; Biology Department, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: lavoie.raphael@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Raphael A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Lavoie
authors.affiliation: Wildlife and Landscape Science Directorate, Science and Technology Branch, Environment Canada, Saskatoon, SK S7N 0H4, Canada. Electronic address: keith.hobson@ec.gc.ca.
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Hobson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D004531:Eggs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D031625:Morus / Q000378:metabolism*; D010063:Ovum / Q000378:metabolism*; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000032:analysis; D011792:Quebec
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D003633:Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D008628:Mercury
keywords: DDT; Mercury; Northern gannet; PCBs; Stable isotopes