There is growing worldwide recognition of the threat posed by persistent organic pollutants (POPs) to wildlife populations. We aimed to measure exposure levels to POPs in a Southern Hemisphere aquatic waterbird species, the nomadic gray teal (Anas gracilis), which is found across Australia. We collected wings from 39 ducks harvested by recreational hunters at two sites (one coastal, one inland) in Victoria, southeastern Australia, in 2021. We examined three groups of POPs: nine congeners of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 13 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and 12 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs were detected at quantifiable levels in 13%, 72%, and 100% of birds, respectively. Of the congeners we tested for in PCBs, OCPs, and PAHs, 33%, 38%, and 100% were detected at quantifiable levels, respectively. The highest levels of exposure to POPs that we found were to the PAH benzo[b]fluoranthene, occurring at a concentration range of 1.78 to 161.05 ng/g wet weight. There were some trends detected relating to differences between geographical sites, with higher levels of several PAHs at the coastal versus inland site. There were several strong, positive associations among PAHs found. We discuss potential sources for the POPs detected, including industrial and agricultural sources, and the likely role of large-scale forest fires in PAH levels. Our results confirm that while Australian waterbirds are exposed to a variety of POPs, exposure levels are currently relatively low. Additional future investigations are required to further characterize POPs within Australian waterbird species. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:736–747. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

中文翻译：

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澳大利亚水鸟接触持久性有机污染物

世界范围内越来越多的人认识到持久性有机污染物（POP）对野生动物种群构成的威胁。我们的目的是测量南半球水生水鸟——澳大利亚各地的游牧灰鸭（ Anas gracilis ）的持久性有机污染物暴露水平。我们收集了 2021 年休闲狩猎者在澳大利亚东南部维多利亚州两个地点（一处沿海，一处内陆）捕获的 39 只鸭子翅膀。我们检查了三组持久性有机污染物：九种多氯联苯 (PCB) 同源物、13 种有机氯农药 (OCP) ) 和 12 种多环芳烃 (PAH)。分别有 13%、72% 和 100% 的鸟类检测到可定量水平的 PCB、OCP 和 PAH。在我们测试的 PCB、OCP 和 PAH 中的同系物中，分别检测到 33%、38% 和 100% 的可量化水平。我们发现，接触 POP 的最高水平是 PAH 苯并[ b ]荧蒽，其浓度范围为 1.78 至 161.05 ng/g 湿重。检测到一些与地理位置差异相关的趋势，沿海地区的多种多环芳烃含量高于内陆地区。发现多环芳烃之间存在多种强烈的正相关关系。我们讨论了检测到的持久性有机污染物的潜在来源，包括工业和农业来源，以及大规模森林火灾对多环芳烃水平的可能影响。我们的结果证实，虽然澳大利亚水鸟接触多种持久性有机污染物，但目前接触水平相对较低。未来需要进行更多调查，以进一步确定澳大利亚水鸟物种中持久性有机污染物的特征。环境毒理学2024；43：736–747。 © 2023 作者。《环境毒理学和化学》由 Wiley periodicals LLC 代表 SETAC 出版。