HEAVY-METAL, ORGANOCHLORINE PESTICIDE AND POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYL CONTAMINATION IN ARCTIC GROUND-SQUIRRELS (SPERMOPHILUS-PARRYI) IN NORTHERN ALASKA

Heavy metal and organochlorine (OC) concentrations, including organoch lorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs), were determined in arctic ground squirrels; (Spermophilus, parryi!) from th ree sites in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska in 1991-93. Heavy met als were present in most squirrel livers collected, with concentration s of trace elements (As, Cd, Hg, Ni, and Pb) averaging below 1 mu g/g wet weight. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB), p,p'-DDE, gamma hexachlorocyclohe xane (gamma-HCH), trans-nonachlor, and PCBs 138, 153, and 170 were the most frequently detected OCs in fat and liver. Average concentrations of individual OC analytes were below 20 ng/g wet weight in liver and below 15 ng/g wet weight in fat. Rank correlations indicate that conce ntrations of heavy metals and of OCs accumulate in concert with one an other (As, Cd, Cu, and Zn; PCBs 138, 170, and 180). Although heavy met al and OC concentrations are low relative to other areas and other arc tic species, the occurrence of these compounds illustrates the global pervasiveness of persistent organic compounds and the potential for bi oaccumulation in the terrestrial arctic food web.