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Migrating Tundra Peregrine Falcons accumulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons along Gulf of Mexico following Deepwater Horizon oil spill

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Abstract

Monitoring internal crude oil exposure can assist the understanding of associated risks and impacts, as well as the effectiveness of restoration efforts. Under the auspices of a long-term monitoring program of Tundra Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus tundrius) at Assateague (Maryland) and South Padre Islands (Texas), we measured the 16 parent (unsubstituted) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), priority pollutants identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and components of crude oil, in peripheral blood cells of migrating Peregrine Falcons from 2009 to 2011. The study was designed to assess the spatial and temporal trends of crude oil exposure associated with the 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill which started 20 April 2010 and was capped on 15 July of that year. Basal PAH blood distributions were determined from pre-DWH oil spill (2009) and unaffected reference area sampling. This sentinel species, a predator of shorebirds and seabirds during migration, was potentially exposed to residual oil from the spill in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Results demonstrate an increased incidence (frequency of PAH detection and blood concentrations) of PAH contamination in 2010 fall migrants sampled along the Texas Gulf Coast, declining to near basal levels in 2011. Kaplan–Meier peak mean ∑PAH blood concentration estimates varied with age (Juveniles-16.28 ± 1.25, Adults-5.41 ± 1.10 ng/g, wet weight) and PAHs detected, likely attributed to the discussed Tundra Peregrine natural history traits. Increased incidence of fluorene, pyrene and anthracene, with the presence of alkylated PAHs in peregrine blood suggests an additional crude oil source after DWH oil spill. The analyses of PAHs in Peregrine Falcon blood provide a convenient repeatable method, in conjunction with ongoing banding efforts, to monitoring crude oil contamination in this avian predator.

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Acknowledgments

We thank all members of the Assateague Island and Padre Island Peregrine Falcon Survey teams for their steadfast dedication and expertise in falcon capture and blood sample collection. From 2009 to 2011 these included; Bud Anderson, Joe Barnes, Kate Davis, Chris DeSorbo, Bart DuPont, Steve Flocks, Alastair Franke, Chris Godfrey, Bruce Haak, Willard Heck, Bill Heinrich, Barbara and Jacques Jenny, Brian Latta, Patricia McDaniel, Tom and Kathy Maechtle, Ruth Mutch, Mark Prostor, Tom Ray, Matt Reidy, Jimmy Rutledge, Janis Seegar, Joe Snyder, Jay Sumner, Nick Todd, Holly Walton, Catherine Wightman and Karen Yates. Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Assateague Island National Seashore, Maryland Department Natural Resources, and the USGS Bird Banding Laboratory kindly provided permits and logistical support. We thank Raul Andrade, Robert Berry, Dwight and Suzanne Haldan, Jim Dayton, Bart DuPont, Maureen Flannery, Mark Fuller, Roberta Jackson, Willard Heck, Ed Moody, P. T. Moore Jr., David Mindell, Ruth Mutch, the American Honda Motor Company, the Dwight S. Haldan Family Charitable Foundation, the Grasslans Charitable Foundation, the North American Falconers Association, The Peregrine Fund, the Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation, Carl Thelander, USFWS South Texas Refuge Complex, Jim Weaver, and Doyle Wells for important contributions to the field efforts. We thank The Peregrine Fund for generously supporting the blood analyses. We appreciate the guidance from F. P. Ward, Mark Fuller and Tom Maechtle in designing this study and thank Chuck Henny and F. P. Ward for valuable improvements to this manuscript.

Ethical standards

All field protocols were conducted under necessary permits acquired from state and federal authorities listed above.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Earthspan, 105B Robes Harbor Ct, Oxford, MD, 21654, USA

    William S. Seegar

  2. Earthspan, 2656 Wade Street, Minden, NV, 89423, USA

    Michael A. Yates

  3. Earthspan, 128 Forest Park Drive, Clancy, MT, 59634, USA

    Gregg E. Doney

  4. The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID, 83709, USA

    J. Peter Jenny

  5. Earthspan, 9 Clyde Road, Watertown, MA, 02472, USA

    Tom C. M. Seegar

  6. The Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of Connecticut, 3107 Horse Barn Hill Road U-4210, Storrs, CT, 06269-4210, USA

    Christopher Perkins

  7. Midwest Ecological Services, Madison, WI, 53532, USA

    Matthew Giovanni

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  1. William S. Seegar
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Correspondence to William S. Seegar.

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Seegar, W.S., Yates, M.A., Doney, G.E. et al. Migrating Tundra Peregrine Falcons accumulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons along Gulf of Mexico following Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Ecotoxicology 24, 1102–1111 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-015-1450-8

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