Comparative Body Compartment Composition and In Ovo Transfer of Organophosphate Flame Retardants in North American Great Lakes Herring Gulls

Although recent usage of organophosphate (OP) flame retardants has increased substantially, very few studies have reported on OPs in biota including wildlife, and essentially there is no information on OP body compartment composition and in ovo or in utero transfer for any given wildlife species. Concentrations and patterns of 16 OP triesters were presently screened for and/or determined in six body compartments from female herring gulls (Larus argentatus; n = 8) and the separate egg yolk and albumen of their entire clutches of eggs (n = 16) (collected in 2010 from a Lake Huron colony site, Laurentian Great Lakes of North America). Fat (32.3 ± 9.8 ng/g wet weight; ww) contained the highest ΣOP concentration, followed by egg yolk (14.8 ± 2.4 ng/g ww) ≈ egg albumen (14.8 ± 5.9 ng/g ww) > muscle (10.9 ± 5.1 ng/g ww) ≫ red blood cells (1.00 ± 0.62 ng/g ww), whereas in liver, blood plasma, and brain all OPs were not detectable. Nine OPs accumulated in herring gulls, but the concentrations and proportions of OPs were dependent on the body and egg compartment. For example, tris­(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBOEP) accounted for 66% of the ΣOP concentration in albumen, but only for 13% in yolk. Tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP) accounted for 25% of the ΣOP concentration in yolk, but was not detected in albumen. Estimates showed that overall OP burdens in the body (3.5 μg) were greater than in the whole egg (1.2 μg), although depuration via in ovo transfer was substantial.