title: Halogenated flame retardants in bobcats from the midwestern United States.
abstract: In response to the restrictions of polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants in various consumer products, alternative halogenated flame retardants have been subjected to increased use. Compared to aquatic ecosystems, relatively little information is available on the contamination of alternative flame retardants in terrestrial ecosystems, especially with regards to mammalian wildlife. In this study we used a top terrestrial carnivore, the bobcat (Lynx rufus), as a unique biomonitoring species for assessing flame retardant contamination in the Midwestern United States (U.S.) terrestrial ecosystems. Concentrations of ∑PBDEs (including all detectable PBDE congeners) ranged from 8.3 to 1920 ng/g lipid weight (median: 50.3 ng/g lw) in livers from 44 bobcats collected during 2013-2014 in Illinois. Among a variety of alternative flame retardants screened, Dechloranes (including anti- and syn-Dechlorane Plus and Dechlorane-602, 603, and 604), tetrabromo-o-chlorotoluene (TBCT), and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) were also frequently detected, with median concentrations of 28.7, 5.2, and 11.8 ng/g lw, respectively. Dechlorane analogue compositions in bobcats were different from what has been reported in other studies, suggesting species- or analogue-dependent bioaccumulation, biomagnification, or metabolism of Dechlorane chemicals in different food webs. Our findings, along with previously reported food web models, suggest Dechloranes may possess substantial bioaccumulation and biomagnification potencies in terrestrial mammalian food webs. Thus, attention should be given to these highly bioavailable flame retardants in future environmental biomonitoring and risk assessments in a post-PBDE era.
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, United States.
authors.forename: Esmarie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boyles
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, United States; School of Environment, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Exposure and Health, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors.forename: Hongli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, United States.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Forestry, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, Carbondale, IL 62901, United States.
authors.forename: Clayton K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Nielsen
authors.affiliation: Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Toronto, Ontario M9P 3V6, Canada.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Toronto, Ontario M9P 3V6, Canada.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Reiner
authors.affiliation: Cooperative Wildlife Research Laboratory and Department of Zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901, United States. Electronic address: dachen@siu.edu.
authors.forename: Da
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000378:metabolism*; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D020387:Food Chain; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated / Q000378:metabolism; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000378:metabolism; D007087:Illinois; D046008:Lynx / Q000378:metabolism*; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds / Q000378:metabolism; D014050:Toluene / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005411:Flame Retardants; D055768:Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers; D006842:Hydrocarbons, Brominated; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds; C556733:dechlorane 602; C526360:dechlorane plus; C029048:2-chlorotoluene; D014050:Toluene; C089796:hexabromocyclododecane
keywords: Bioaccumulation; Bobcat; Dechlorane analogues; Halogenated flame retardants; Mammalian wildlife; Polybrominated diphenyl ether