Overland flights of terns and consequent high exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Northwest France in the 1970s

Nisbet, Ian C. T.; Cabot, David; Partridge, Karl

Overland flights of terns and consequent high exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Northwest France in the 1970s

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TERN PESTICIDE PAPER.pdf(850.76 KB)

Accepted Version

TERN PESTICIDE PAPER.docx(361.09 KB)

Authors' original accepted version

Date

2023-06-27

Authors

Nisbet, Ian C. T.

Cabot, David

Partridge, Karl

Publisher

BioOne

Published Version

https://doi.org/10.1675/063.045.0312

Abstract

Sandwich (Thalasseus sandvicensis), Common (Sterna hirundo), and Roseate Terns (S. dougallii) made overland flights from a breeding site in Brittany (northwest France) to forage in a semi-enclosed basin (Rade de Brest) ∼30 km away in 1976 and 1978. The foraging area was contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and high levels of PCBs were detected in several tern eggs. Levels of PCBs in tern eggs were sufficiently high to have caused adverse effects on reproduction. PCBs should be considered as potential contributory causes of declines in tern populations in the 1960s–1970s, in addition to other known causes including predation and trapping in the winter quarters.

Keywords

Brittany , Overland flights , PCBs , Terns , Toxic effects

Citation

Nisbet, I. C. T., Cabot, D. and Partridge, K. (2023) 'Overland flights of terns and consequent high exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in Northwest France in the 1970s', Waterbirds 45(3), pp. 345-349. https://doi.org/10.1675/063.045.0312