Spatial trends of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in avian species: utilization of stored samples in the Environmental Specimen Bank of Ehime University (es-Bank)

The present study determined concentrations and patterns of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in specimens of open sea, and Japanese coastal and inland avian species, which have been stored in the Environmental Specimen Bank of Ehime University (es-Bank), to examine the spatial trends. PBDEs and PCBs were detected in all the muscle samples analyzed, suggesting that PBDE pollution has spread even to the remote open sea areas, as in the case of PCBs. Japanese coastal and inland birds accumulated higher concentrations of PBDEs than open sea birds. In addition, higher PBDE/PCB concentration ratios were observed in Japanese coastal and inland birds than in open sea birds, indicating the input of PBDEs into the Japanese terrestrial environment. Compositions of PBDEs varied among avian species with a predominance of BDE47 or BDE153. This could be due to differences in their habitat, food habit and/or biotransformation capacity of PBDEs.