Accumulation of perfluoroalkyl substance (PFASs) in Eurasian magpie (Pica pica sericea) in Korea

Abstract

Avian species have been utilized as biomonitoring species due to their vulnerable character to environmental contaminants and wide distribution. Eurasian magpie (Pica pica sericea) is representative residential species, which is distributed in urban and rural regions of Korea. Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) have been applied for packing materials, fire-fighting foams, apparel, and coating materials because of their specific properties. In our study, the concentrations of 16 PFASs were measured in the liver of Eurasian magpie (n=254) collected from several regions of Korea in 2003, 2004, 2016, and 2017 to investigate the contamination status, accumulation profiles, and regional difference in the concentrations of PFASs. The major compounds of PFASs were PFOS (mean: 23.8 ng/g wet weight), perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA: 2.79 ng/g), and perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnDA: 2.11 ng/g), with over 75% detection rate. Signification correlations were found among the concentrations of PFASs, indicating the similar contamination sources and/ or bioaccumulation behavior. The concentrations of PFOS, PFUnDA, and PFTrDA in mature females were lower than those found in immatures and mature males, indicating the differences in the sex and growth stage. In addition, significant regional different were found for PFOS, PFUnDA, and PFTrDA. The accumulation profiles of PFASs in livers of target species were different depending on region, suggesting the reflection of different sources. There were declining trends in the concentration of long-chain PFCAs between 2003 and 2017 while PFOS showed increasing trend. Our study suggests the feasibility of Eurasian magpie as biomonitoring species for PFASs.