title: Legacy Pollutants are Declining in Great Skuas (Stercorarius skua) but Remain Higher in Faroe Islands than in Scotland.
abstract: To monitor environmental pollutants in Faroese biota, samples from a top predator were analysed and put into a spatial and temporal context. Analysis of 20 Great Skua eggs sampled in 2012 from the Faroe Islands showed >70 % lower concentrations of legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) than in samples analysed in 1977. The 2012 Faroese eggs showed higher concentrations than for eggs in Shetland from about the same period (2008). Eggshells were analysed for sub-lethal effects but there were no detectable effects of legacy POP levels on eggshell colour or thickness. A temporal decline in legacy POPs would indicate a reduction in the general pollutant levels present in the environment as has been shown in other areas of the North Atlantic, but there are significant geographic differences in POPs levels likely due to differences in diet resulting in significantly different exposures on a relatively limited spatial scale.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK. sjurdur@hammer.fo.
authors.forename: Sjurdur
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3986-5074
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hammer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Ruedi G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Nager
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Alonso
authors.affiliation: NERC Life Sciences Mass Spectrometry Facility, Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre, Rankine Avenue, East Kilbride, G75 0QF, Scotland, UK.
authors.forename: Rona A R
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: McGill
authors.affiliation: MacArthur Green, 95 South Woodside Road, Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Furness
authors.affiliation: Environment Agency, Traðagøta 38, Argir, FO-165, Faroe Islands.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D046091:Charadriiformes / Q000378:metabolism*; D003718:Denmark; D004528:Egg Shell / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D012606:Scotland
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Eggshell; Eggshell thickness; Faroe Islands; Persistent organic pollutants; Stable isotope analysis