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Perfluoroalkyl Acid Concentrations in Livers of Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) from Germany and Austria

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Abstract

The concentrations of 11 perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs) were measured in the livers of foxes (Vulpes vulpes) from Germany, a primarily carnivorous species, and chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) from Austria, an herbivorous species. Perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) at concentrations [all results refer to wet weight (ww)] of 3.2–320 µg/kg were detected in all 40 fox livers tested, yielding an arithmetic mean of 46.6 µg/kg and a median of 29.8 µg/kg. Long-chain PFAAs were detected at concentrations of 1.7 µg/kg perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) to 2.4 µg/kg perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA) and perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoDA). Of the short-chain PFAAs tested, only perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) was found in 1 fox liver at a concentration of 1.4 µg/kg, and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) was found in 2 fox livers at a concentration of 1 µg/kg each. PFOS and PFNA concentrations higher than limit of quantification (LOQ) were detected in 90.9 and 81.8 % of chamois livers, respectively. The arithmetic mean for PFOS concentrations was 2.2 µg/kg (median 2.4 µg/kg), a factor of 21 (median factor of 12) lower than in fox livers. The arithmetic mean for PFNA concentrations was 2.0 µg/kg (median 1.9 µg/kg). Perfluorobutanoic acid, PFHxA, perfluorooctanoic acid, perfluorobutanesulfonate, and PFHxS were not detected at concentrations higher than the LOQ in any of the samples. The various results are compared with one another and with the results of other studies of herbivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous wild animals. The highest concentrations of PFAA, in particular PFOS, were found in omnivorous animals followed by carnivores. The lowest levels were present in herbivores.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Rosa Maria Sobel for measurements of the samples. We also thank Barbara Gamb for assistance in the literature search. Special thanks go to Rudolf Tinneberg for providing the chamois liver samples and to the hunters from Hesse, Germany, who provided the fox samples. We are indebted to veterinary pathologist Anne Nessler and her team for extraction and portioning of the fox livers for PFAA analysis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hessian State Laboratory, Glarusstr. 6, 65203, Wiesbaden, Germany

    Rika Alessa Riebe, Sandy Falk, Sebastian Georgii & Thorsten Stahl

  2. Hessian State Laboratory, Schubertstr. 60, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Hubertus Brunn

  3. Unit for Biomathematics and Data Processing, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Giessen, Frankfurter Str. 95, 35392, Giessen, Germany

    Klaus Failing

Authors
  1. Rika Alessa Riebe
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  2. Sandy Falk
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  3. Sebastian Georgii
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  4. Hubertus Brunn
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  5. Klaus Failing
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  6. Thorsten Stahl
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Correspondence to Thorsten Stahl.

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Riebe, R.A., Falk, S., Georgii, S. et al. Perfluoroalkyl Acid Concentrations in Livers of Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and Chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) from Germany and Austria. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 71, 7–15 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0250-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-015-0250-8

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