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Impact of 2,3,7,8‐TCDD exposure on survival, growth, and behavior of ospreys breeding in Wisconsin, USA
Author(s) -
Woodford James E.,
Karasov William H.,
Meyer Michael W.,
Chambers Laura
Publication year - 1998
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.5620170717
Subject(s) - fledge , hatching , biology , zoology , nest (protein structural motif) , contamination , ecology , toxicology , biochemistry
Abstract Osprey ( Pandion halieatus ) eggs collected from areas (Castle Rock and Petenwell Flowages) 7 km downstream from two bleached‐kraft mill facilities from 1992 to 1996 contained much higher levels of 2,3,7,8‐tetrachlordibenzo‐ p ‐dioxin (range = 29 to 162 pg/g wet weight, n = 18) than eggs collected from two reference areas upstream (range = below detection limits to 23.8 pg/g, n = 15). Levels in eggs of the remaining planar halogenated hydrocarbon congeners and other nonplanar organochlorines were not statistically different between the contaminated and upstream areas ( p > 0.05). We placed eggs from the contaminated area into nests at both reference areas (group A) and eggs from the reference areas into nests at the contaminated area (group B). No significant differences in egg hatching or chick fledging rates were observed between these groups and nests left unmanipulated at both reference areas (group C) and the contaminated area (group D). Mass increase rates of chicks differed significantly ( p = 0.03), with the highest rates from group C and the lowest rates from group B. This difference cannot be easily attributed to differences in parental nest attentiveness or food provisioning, which were greater at the contaminated area. We conclude that although current planar halogenated hydrocarbon exposure levels were not affecting hatching and fledging rates, they may have affected chick growth.