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Identifying the provenance of Leach's storm petrels in the North Atlantic using polychlorinated biphenyl signatures derived from comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

Identifying the provenance of Leach's storm petrels in the North Atlantic using polychlorinated biphenyl signatures derived from comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry
Identifying the provenance of Leach's storm petrels in the North Atlantic using polychlorinated biphenyl signatures derived from comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry

PCB signatures can be used for source identification, exposure studies, age dating and bio-monitoring. This study uses comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-ToFMS) to produce a PCB signature comprised of over 80 PCBs for individual Leach's storm petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). The Leach's storm petrel is a relatively small, elusive, understudied pelagic bird, which only returns to remote islands under darkness during the breeding season. Samples were obtained from 25 Leach's storm petrels found dead in Canada and the UK following storm events in 2006 and 2009. Tissue samples were extracted and analysed by GCxGC-ToFMS and results showed that 83 PCB congeners were present in >60% of samples. An assessment of the PCB signature in four different tissue types showed that it did not vary greatly in samples obtained from the gut, heart, liver and stomach. Multivariate statistical analysis identified a distinctive PCB signature in birds from Canada and Europe which was used to identify the regional provenance and transatlantic movement of individual birds. The findings showcase the ability of GCxGC-ToFMS to provide the high quality congener specific analysis that is necessary for PCB fingerprinting, as well as highlighting the potential of PCB signatures for use in ecological studies of movement, foraging and behaviour.

Chemical fingerprinting, Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, Leach's storm petrel, Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), Time of flight mass spectrometry
0045-6535
195-202
Megson, David
8f149361-86db-468c-897d-510bf5e470a8
Brown, Thomas A.
6eaa01b9-51e7-4c63-9d9d-172b93975600
Johnson, Glenn W.
b6789e61-fa96-4490-8cb8-cfc774fcaace
O'Sullivan, Gwen
32754a23-e3fc-47c8-9cec-005349967592
Bicknell, Anthony W J
36dc4103-0eaa-4b3e-abc5-a0b9629b5d59
Votier, Stephen C.
b3f149e2-0fa4-4ca3-a2ae-6f3151295af3
Lohan, Maeve C.
6ca10597-2d0f-40e8-8e4f-7619dfac5088
Comber, Sean
cd5302d9-9c84-418f-8475-10e46eb059a4
Kalin, Robert
f0707b24-82db-4a48-a873-98666499d141
Worsfold, Paul J.
27675f89-7eee-45c5-821e-a381d8db9693
Megson, David
8f149361-86db-468c-897d-510bf5e470a8
Brown, Thomas A.
6eaa01b9-51e7-4c63-9d9d-172b93975600
Johnson, Glenn W.
b6789e61-fa96-4490-8cb8-cfc774fcaace
O'Sullivan, Gwen
32754a23-e3fc-47c8-9cec-005349967592
Bicknell, Anthony W J
36dc4103-0eaa-4b3e-abc5-a0b9629b5d59
Votier, Stephen C.
b3f149e2-0fa4-4ca3-a2ae-6f3151295af3
Lohan, Maeve C.
6ca10597-2d0f-40e8-8e4f-7619dfac5088
Comber, Sean
cd5302d9-9c84-418f-8475-10e46eb059a4
Kalin, Robert
f0707b24-82db-4a48-a873-98666499d141
Worsfold, Paul J.
27675f89-7eee-45c5-821e-a381d8db9693

Megson, David, Brown, Thomas A., Johnson, Glenn W., O'Sullivan, Gwen, Bicknell, Anthony W J, Votier, Stephen C., Lohan, Maeve C., Comber, Sean, Kalin, Robert and Worsfold, Paul J. (2014) Identifying the provenance of Leach's storm petrels in the North Atlantic using polychlorinated biphenyl signatures derived from comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Chemosphere, 114, 195-202. (doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.04.061).

Record type: Article

Abstract

PCB signatures can be used for source identification, exposure studies, age dating and bio-monitoring. This study uses comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-ToFMS) to produce a PCB signature comprised of over 80 PCBs for individual Leach's storm petrels (Oceanodroma leucorhoa). The Leach's storm petrel is a relatively small, elusive, understudied pelagic bird, which only returns to remote islands under darkness during the breeding season. Samples were obtained from 25 Leach's storm petrels found dead in Canada and the UK following storm events in 2006 and 2009. Tissue samples were extracted and analysed by GCxGC-ToFMS and results showed that 83 PCB congeners were present in >60% of samples. An assessment of the PCB signature in four different tissue types showed that it did not vary greatly in samples obtained from the gut, heart, liver and stomach. Multivariate statistical analysis identified a distinctive PCB signature in birds from Canada and Europe which was used to identify the regional provenance and transatlantic movement of individual birds. The findings showcase the ability of GCxGC-ToFMS to provide the high quality congener specific analysis that is necessary for PCB fingerprinting, as well as highlighting the potential of PCB signatures for use in ecological studies of movement, foraging and behaviour.

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More information

Published date: 2014
Keywords: Chemical fingerprinting, Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography, Leach's storm petrel, Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), Time of flight mass spectrometry

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 414070
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/414070
ISSN: 0045-6535
PURE UUID: 25c56b79-84ed-421c-812a-834eac49d7be
ORCID for Maeve C. Lohan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5340-3108

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 13 Sep 2017 16:31
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:51

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Contributors

Author: David Megson
Author: Thomas A. Brown
Author: Glenn W. Johnson
Author: Gwen O'Sullivan
Author: Anthony W J Bicknell
Author: Stephen C. Votier
Author: Maeve C. Lohan ORCID iD
Author: Sean Comber
Author: Robert Kalin
Author: Paul J. Worsfold

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