title: The first exposure assessment of legacy and unrestricted brominated flame retardants in predatory birds of Pakistan.
abstract: The exposure to legacy polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDDs) and unrestricted 1,2-bis (2,4,6-tribromophenoxy) ethane (BTBPE), bis (2-ethylhexyl)-2,3,4,5-tetrabromophthalate (BEH-TEBP) and 2-ethylhexyl-2,3,4,5-tetrabromo-benzoate (EH-TBB) was examined in tail feathers of 76 birds belonging to ten predatory species inhabiting Pakistan. In addition, different feather types of six individuals of Black kite (Milvus migrans) were compared for their brominated flame retardant (BFR) levels. Black kite was found to be the most contaminated species with a median (minimum-maximum) tail feather concentration of 2.4 (0.70-7.5) ng g-1dw for ∑PBDEs, 1.5 (0.5-8.1) ng g-1dw for ∑HBCDDs and 0.10 (<LOQ-0.1) ng g-1dw for BTBPE. Among unrestricted BFRs, BTBPE was detected only in Black kite and Little owl (Athene noctua), whereas BEH-TEBP and EH-TBB were not detected in any species. BDE-47 was found to be the most prevalent BFR compound in aquatic species, while BDE-99 and -153 were more abundant in terrestrial species. For HBCDDs, α-isomer was generally recorded as the most prevalent BFR in both terrestrial and aquatic species. The concentrations of BFRs differed significantly (all P < 0.01) among species, trophic guilds and between habitats, the latter for PBDEs only (P < 0.04), whereas differences among taxonomic affiliations and groups with different feeding regimes were not significant (P > 0.05 for both). Similarly, no significant concentration differences were observed among different feather types (all P > 0.05) suggesting their similar exposure. While variables such as species, trophic guild and δ15N values were evaluated as major predictors for BFR accumulation in the studied species, we predict that combined effects of just mentioned factors may govern the intra- and interspecific differences in BFR contamination profiles. We urge for further investigation of BFR exposure and potential toxicological effects in predatory birds from Asia with a more extensive sample size per species and location.
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Naeem Akhtar
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Abbasi
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, P.O. Box 358, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Eulaers
authors.affiliation: Environmental Toxicology, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: veerle.jaspers@ntnu.no.
authors.forename: Veerle Leontina Bernard
authors.initials: VLB
authors.lastname: Jaspers
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan; WWF-Pakistan, Ferozpur Road, PO Box 5180, Lahore 54600, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Jamshed Iqbal
authors.initials: MJI
authors.lastname: Chaudhry
authors.affiliation: Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, UPEC, Paris 7, CNRS, INRA, IRD, Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement de Paris, F-75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Adrien
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frantz
authors.affiliation: Center for Permafrost, Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, 1350 København K, Denmark.
authors.forename: Per Lennart
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Ambus
authors.affiliation: Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
authors.forename: Adrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Covaci
authors.affiliation: Environmental Biology and Ecotoxicology Laboratory, Department of Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan. Electronic address: r_n_malik2000@yahoo.co.uk.
authors.forename: Riffat Naseem
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Malik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001717:Birds / Q000378:metabolism*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D005241:Feathers / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020387:Food Chain; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D010154:Pakistan; D011235:Predatory Behavior
chemical_list: C477694:2,2',4,4',5-brominated diphenyl ether; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated; C089796:hexabromocyclododecane
keywords: Feather type; HBCDs; Habitat; PBDEs; Stable isotopes; Trophic guild