PMID- 29587212 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20180801 LR - 20181202 IS - 1873-6424 (Electronic) IS - 0269-7491 (Linking) VI - 238 DP - 2018 Jul TI - First evaluation of the use of down feathers for monitoring persistent organic pollutants and organophosphate ester flame retardants: A pilot study using nestlings of the endangered cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus). PG - 413-420 LID - S0269-7491(17)35238-7 [pii] LID - 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.065 [doi] AB - Raptor feathers have been increasingly used to assess pollutants in ecotoxicological monitoring studies. However, the suitability of down feathers to detect pollutants has not yet been investigated. In this study, concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and organophosphate ester flame retardants (OPEs) were assessed in down and juvenile contour feathers of Spanish cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus) nestlings (circa 73 days old) and contaminant concentrations were compared between both types of feathers from the same individuals. Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs: 1.30-6.16 ng g(-1) dw feather), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs: 0.23-1.35 ng g(-1) dw feather), p,p'-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (pp-DDE: 0.09-6.10 ng g(-1) dw feather) and tris (1-chloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TCiPP: 0.86-48.96 ng g(-1) dw feather) were significantly higher in down than in contour feathers. In contrast, contour feathers showed higher levels of the more volatile POP, lindane (0.25-3.12 ng g(-1) dw feather). Concentrations of hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and OPEs (except TCiPP) were similar between the two types of feathers. By showing high accumulation of the most persistent POPs investigated, down feathers presented a contamination profile similar to that previously described in raptor eggs. As these feathers grow during the first days of a vulture chicks life, they probably reflect the contaminant burden of the chick due to maternal transfer to the egg. Overall, the present study provides the first indication that down feathers may be useful for biomonitoring studies. Further research is needed to confirm whether nestling down feathers reflect the concentrations in the egg. CI - Copyright (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. FAU - Monclus, Laura AU - Monclus L AD - Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain. Electronic address: laura.monclus@uab.cat. FAU - Lopez-Bejar, Manel AU - Lopez-Bejar M AD - Department of Animal Health and Anatomy, Veterinary Faculty, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain. Electronic address: manel.lopez.bejar@uab.cat. FAU - De la Puente, Javier AU - De la Puente J AD - SEO/BirdLife, Bird Monitoring Unit, Melquiades Biencinto 34, 28053, Madrid, Spain; Parque Nacional de la Sierra de Guadarrama, Centro de Investigacion, Seguimiento y Evaluacion, Cta. M-604, Km. 28, 28740, Rascafria, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: jdelapuente@seo.org. FAU - Covaci, Adrian AU - Covaci A AD - Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium. Electronic address: adrian.covaci@uantwerpen.be. FAU - Jaspers, Veerle L B AU - Jaspers VLB AD - Envitox Group, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway. Electronic address: veerle.jaspers@ntnu.no. LA - eng PT - Journal Article DEP - 20180326 PL - England TA - Environ Pollut JT - Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987) JID - 8804476 RN - 0 (Environmental Pollutants) RN - 0 (Flame Retardants) RN - 0 (Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers) RN - 0 (Organophosphates) RN - 4M7FS82U08 (Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene) RN - 4Z87H0LKUY (Hexachlorobenzene) RN - DFC2HB4I0K (Polychlorinated Biphenyls) SB - IM MH - Animals MH - Birds MH - Dichlorodiphenyl Dichloroethylene/analysis MH - Eggs MH - Environmental Monitoring/*methods MH - Environmental Pollutants/*analysis MH - *Falconiformes MH - Feathers/*chemistry MH - Flame Retardants/*analysis MH - Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers/analysis MH - Hexachlorobenzene/analysis MH - Organophosphates/*analysis MH - Pilot Projects MH - Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis OTO - NOTNLM OT - Contour feathers OT - Down feathers OT - Nestlings OT - OPEs OT - POPs EDAT- 2018/03/28 06:00 MHDA- 2018/08/02 06:00 CRDT- 2018/03/28 06:00 PHST- 2017/12/18 00:00 [received] PHST- 2018/03/16 00:00 [revised] PHST- 2018/03/19 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2018/03/28 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2018/08/02 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2018/03/28 06:00 [entrez] AID - S0269-7491(17)35238-7 [pii] AID - 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.065 [doi] PST - ppublish SO - Environ Pollut. 2018 Jul;238:413-420. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.03.065. Epub 2018 Mar 26.