Entrez PubMed

Age- and sex-dependent distribution of persistent organochlorine pollutants in urban foxes.

Dip R, Hegglin D, Deplazes P, Dafflon O, Koch H, Naegeli H.

Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich-Tierspital, Zurich, Switzerland.

The colonization of urban and suburban habitats by red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) provides a novel sentinel species to monitor the spread of anthropogenic pollutants in densely populated human settlements. Here, red foxes were collected in the municipal territory of Zurich, Switzerland, and their perirenal adipose tissue was examined for persistent organochlorine residues. This pilot study revealed an unexpected pattern of contamination by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), with significantly higher levels of the predominant congeners PCB-138, PCB-153, and PCB-180 in juvenile foxes relative to adult animals. Further data analysis demonstrated that the observed difference was attributable to an age-dependent reduction of PCB concentrations in females, whereas male foxes retained approximately the same PCB burden throughout their life span. A similar sex-related bias between population members has been observed, primarily in marine mammals. Interestingly, the reduction of organochlorine contents with progressive age is reminiscent of human studies, where an extensive maternal transfer of xenobiotics to the offspring has been shown to result in increased exposure levels of infants relative to adults. To our knowledge, this is the first example of an urban wildlife species that faithfully reflects the dynamic distribution of toxic contaminants in the corresponding human population. Suburban and urban foxes occupy habitats in close proximity to humans, depend on anthropogenic food supplies, are relatively long-lived and readily available for sampling, can be easily aged and sexed, have a limited home range, and, therefore, meet several important requirements to serve as a surrogate species for the assessment of toxic health hazards.

MeSH Terms:

Adipose Tissue/chemistry
Age Factors
Animals
Body Burden
Environmental Pollutants/analysis
Environmental Pollutants/pharmacokinetics*
Female
Foxes/physiology*
Insecticides, Organochlorine/analysis
Insecticides, Organochlorine/pharmacokinetics*
Male
Polychlorinated Biphenyls/analysis
Polychlorinated Biphenyls/pharmacokinetics*
Risk Assessment
Sex Factors
Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Switzerland
Tissue Distribution
Urban Population

Substances:

Environmental Pollutants
Insecticides, Organochlorine
Polychlorinated Biphenyls

PMID: 14527839 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Show:

Write to the Help Desk
NCBI | NLM | NIH
Department of Health & Human Services
Privacy Statement | Freedom of Information Act | Disclaimer

Oct 28 2004 14:51:27