

14 
Table 7. Mean DDE and PCB residue concentrations (ppm, wet weight) in eggs of Alaskan seabirds, 1973-76, ranked 
by species within regions. Species are included only if five or more samples were collected in that region. 






DDE PCB's 
Geometric Geometric 
Species meané Site Species mean@ 
Gulf of Alaska 
Mew gull 0.660 A Mew gull 3.34 A 
Northern fulmar 0.484 AB Common murre 0.625 B 
Common murre 0.448 AB Glaucous-winged gull 0.548 B 
Glaucous-winged gull 0.324 BC Tufted puffin 0.518 B 
Tufted puffin 0.278. CD Northern fulmar 0.484 B 
Thick-billed murre 0.147 CDE Black-legged kittiwake 0.480 B 
Pelagic cormorant 0,134 DE Pelagic cormorant 0,296 B 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.065 E Thick-billed murre 0,259 B 
Aleutian Islands 
Glaucous-winged gull 3.29 A Glaucous-winged gull 3.41 A 
Ancient murrelet 1.61 B Fork-tailed storm-petrel 1.69 B 
Fork-tailed storm-petrel 0.602 BC Ancient murrelet 0.829 BC 
Aleutian tern 0.432 C Leach’s storm-petrel 0.508 CD 
Leach’s storm-petrel 0.337 C Aleutian tern 0.325 CD 
Thick-billed murre 0.145 C Common murre 0.136 D 
Common murre 0.132 C Thick-billed murre 0.090 D 
Bristol Bay 
Tufted puffin 0.266 A Tufted puffin 0.423 A 
Common murre 0.134 B Black-legged kittiwake 0.204 B 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.021 C Common murre 0,149 B 
Pribilof Islands 
Northern fulmar 0.307 A Black-legged kittiwake 0.472 A 
Common murre 0.205 A Northern fulmar 0.387 A 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.033 B Common murre 0.239 B 
Seward Peninsula 
Thick-billed murre 0.166 A Black-legged kittiwake 0.365 A 
Common murre 0.141 A Thick-billed murre 0.307 A 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.033 B Common murre 0.182 B 


‘For each region, species means that do not share the same letter are significantly different (P<0.05) from each other (DDE and PCB's 
considered separately). 
this region were the only samples in which PCB’s were not 
detected. Except for cis-nonachlor and toxaphene in the 
glaucous-winged gull eggs from the Aleutian Islands, the 
occurrence of other chemicals was near or above the over- 
all average. 
Almost all chemicals were consistently less common in 
black-legged kittiwake eggs than the average for all species 
(Table 3). Among the few exceptions to this pattern were 
the prevalence of many chemicals in the kittiwake eggs 
from the Aleutian Islands, and the slightly higher-than- 
average occurrence of dieldrin in eggs from Bristol Bay 
and mirex in those from the Seward Peninsula. This is the 
only species in which residues of all 13 organochlorines 
were detected. 
The frequency of residue occurrence in common murre 
eggs was usually less than the average for all species in 
each region (Table 3). However, in the Pribilof Islands 
DDD, DDT, dieldrin, and heptachlor epoxide occurred 
more commonly in this species than the avérage for all 
species. Mirex and endrin were the only organochlorines 
not detected in common murre eggs. 
In tufted puffin eggs, the frequency of many chemicals 
was notably higher than the average for all species (Table 3). 
For example, DDD, heptachlor epoxide, mirex, cis-chlor- 
dane, cis-nonachlor, HCB, and toxaphene were com- 
monly detected in the tufted puffin eggs from the Gulf of 
Alaska, and the frequency of DDD, mirex, and cis-chlor- 
dane was high in those from Bristol Bay. 
Residue Concentration 
The differences in residue concentration among species 
were not distinct, in part because of the differences in 

