The PCB makes up the majority of persistent organic pollutants in seabird eggs.
There has been a significant reduction of PCB concentrations in seabird eggs in the period from 1983 to 2003. This reduction is valid for the herring gull and kittiwake species. There was significant difference in PCB concentrations between seabird species. The gannet and herring gull had higher concentrations of PCBs than the other seabird species.
There was no indication of a regional difference in PCB concentrations within the Barents Sea. According to large reports from AMAP the PCB levels in Arctic are lower than from more temporal and populated areas. The time trend series from the Barents Sea also points downward, for example was the SPCB levels 80% higher in 1983 than in 2003 in herring gull, black-legged kittiwake and Atlantic puffin eggs.
Levels of ΣPCB in seabird egg
| Species | Species | Species | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Common guillemot. |
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Gannet. |
|
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Glaucouc gull. |
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Herring gull. |
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Kittiwake. |
|
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Puffin. |
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Razorbill. |
Levels of egg-ΣPCB in Shag. |
