Chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants in blood of black and turkey vultures from Savannah River Site, South Carolina, USA

Blood of adult and juvenile black and turkey vultures in the Savannah River Site of South Carolina, USA was analyzed for the presence of 2,3,7,8-chlorine substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (2,3,7,8-PCDDs), dibenzofurans (2,3,7,8-PCDFs), -dioxin-like and -di-ortho polychlorinated biphenyls. Concentration ranges of 2,3,7,8-PCDD/DFs in blood of black and turkey vultures were 14.2–34.6 and 8.7–56.2 pg/ml wet wt., respectively. Dioxin-like PCBs were in the ranges of 815–4627 and 753–3611 pg/ml wet wt. respectively, in black and turkey vultures. Considerable concentrations of two congeners of di-ortho PCBs were noticed in the ranges of 1415–10 325 and 663–7500 pg/ml respectively, in black and turkey vultures. Comparatively, greater toxic equivalency (TEQ) were observed in blood of turkey vultures with the ranges of 3.2–20, whereas black vulture contained 1.8–8.4 pg TEQ/ml wet wt. basis. The species-specific accumulation profiles of PCDD/DFs and dioxin-like PCBs may reflect the different feeding habits, ecology, metabolic capacity and migratory movements of these two scavenging species.