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Great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ) dietary exposure to PCDD/DF in the Tittabawassee River floodplain in Midland, Michigan, USA
Author(s) -
Coefield Sarah J.,
Zwiernik Matthew J.,
Fredricks Timothy B.,
Seston Rita M.,
Nadeau Michael W.,
Tazelaar Dustin L.,
Moore Jeremy N.,
Kay Denise P.,
Roark Shaun A.,
Giesy John P.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.291
Subject(s) - floodplain , hazard quotient , bioaccumulation , ingestion , zoology , biology , ecology , contamination , endocrinology
Soils and sediments in the floodplain of the Tittabawassee River downstream of Midland, Michigan, USA contain elevated concentrations of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) and polychlorinated dibenzo‐ p ‐dioxins (PCDD). As a long‐lived, resident top predator, the great horned owl ( Bubo virginianus ; GHO) has the potential to be exposed to bioaccumulative compounds such as PCDD/DF. Site‐specific components of the GHO diet were collected along 115 km of the Tittabawassee, Pine, Chippewa, and Saginaw Rivers during 2005 and 2006. The site‐specific GHO biomass‐based diet was dominated by cottontail rabbits ( Sylvilagus floridanus) and muskrats ( Ondatra zibethicus ). Incidental soil ingestion and cottontail rabbits were the primary contributors of PCDD/DF to the GHO diet. The great horned owl daily dietary exposure estimates were greater in the study area (SA) (3.3 to 5.0 ng 2,3,7,8‐TCDD equivalents (TEQ WHO‐avian )/kg body wt/d) than the reference area (RA) (0.07 ng TEQ WHO‐Avian /kg body wt/d). Hazard quotients (HQs) based on central tendency estimates of the average daily dose and no‐observable‐adverse effect level (NOAEL) for the screech owl and uncertainty factors were <1.0 for both the RA and the SA. Hazard quotients based on upper end estimates of the average daily dose and NOAEL were <1.0 in the RA and up to 3.4 in the SA. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2010;29:2350–2362. © 2010 SETAC