Table 8. Continued 


19 






Geometric Geometric 
Site, compound and species mean? Site, compound and species mean® 
St. Paul Island Bluff Seabird Cliffs 
DDE DDE 
Common murre 0.135 A Common murre O.141 A 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.033 B Black-legged kittiwake 0.033 B 
Dieldrin DDD 
Common murre 0.005 A Common murre 0.010 A 
Black-legged kittiwake <0.001 B Black-legged kittiwake 0.001 B 
Heptachlor epoxide Oxychlordane 
Common murre 0.011 A Common murre 0.023 A 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.003 B Black-legged kittiwake 0.010 B 
Oxychlordane HCB 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.034 A Common murre O.111 A 
Common murre 0.026 B Black-legged kittiwake 0.031 B 
HCB PCB's 
Common murre 0.080 A Black-legged kittiwake 0.365 A 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.043 B Common murre 0.182 B 
PCB’s 
Black-legged kittiwake 0.472 A 
Common murre 0.205 B 

aFor each site, means that do not share the same letter are significantly different (P<0.05) from each other (each compound considered 
separately). 
bND = not detected in these samples. 
¢Or trans-nonachlor, or both (see Methods). 
dMean reflects collections in two years with significant differences among years; see Appendix III. 
Discussion and Conclusions 
Although the concentrations were usually low, the eggs 
from Alaska contained a broader array of organochlorines 
than has typically been reported in samples from remote 
locations. This larger number is probably a result of our 
analyzing the samples at a higher level of sensitivity than 
that used in most similar studies. Concentrations of DDE 
are usually higher than the concentrations of other or- 
ganochlorines in field-collected specimens (Ohlendorf 
et al. 1978b). This was generally also true of our samples 
from Alaska. However, HCB occurred in most of the eggs 
we analyzed, and in concentrations that sometimes ex- 
ceeded those of DDE — particularly at sites in the Pribilof 
Islands and Seward Peninsula. This widespread occur- 
rence may mean that the primary source of HCB is in the 
northwestern Pacific, or that HCB is entering the region 
by way of oceanic gyres. The high concentrations of 
organochlorines in eggs of all species from Buldir Island 
and in the glaucous-winged gulls from Bogoslof Island, 
which are relatively remote sites, probably means that 
birds nesting on these islands are obtaining these contami- 
nants from sources outside Alaska. 
In the following sections we review the literature on oc- 
currence of organochlorines in northern seabirds, and the 
possible relation of food, migration, and winter distribu- 
tion to the organochlorine content of their eggs. 
Organochlorine Residues in Northern Seabirds 
Eggs of several species of marine birds collected in 1970 
from the Strait of Georgia, the west coast of Vancouver 
Island, and the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Colum- 
bia were analyzed for residues of organochlorines (Ohlen- 
dorf et al. 1978b). The ratios of PCB to DDE in those eggs 
were often similar to ratios in the present samples from 
Alaska. Eggs of Leach’s storm-petrel from Vancouver Is- 
land contained somewhat higher concentrations of DDE 
(about 2.2 ppm, converted from lipid-weight basis) and 
PCB’s (about 1.1 ppm) than did our samples of this species 
from Buldir Island. In the only two eggs of fork-tailed 
storm-petrel from the Queen Charlotte Islands that were 
analyzed, concentrations of DDE (4.1 ppm) and PCB’s 
(15 ppm) were much higher than in eggs from Alaska. 
Concentrations of DDE (0.5 and 0.8 ppm) and PCB's 
(2.6 and 5.4 ppm) in eggs of pelagic cormorant from two 
locations in the Strait of Georgia (Ohlendorf et al. 1978) 
were several times higher than those in eggs from Middle- 
ton Island and Buldir Island in Alaska. Residue concen- 
trations in eggs of double-crested cormorant were much 
higher (4.1 ppm DDE; 14 ppm PCB's) than in Alaskan 
samples. 
Organochlorine concentrations in eggs of ed 
i i i couver 
winged gulls from various Strait of Georgia, an 
tsland; and Queen Charlotte Islands locations (Ohlendorf 


