VALIDATION OF THE USE OF BLOOD-SAMPLES TO ASSESS TISSUE CONCENTRATIONS OF ORGANOCHLORINES IN GLAUCOUS GULLS, LARUS-HYPERBOREUS

Fifteen adult glaucous gulfs, Larus hyperboreus, were captured near Ny -Alesund, Svalbard. The birds were kept in captivity for 24 - 41 days and fed a diet of polar cod, Boreogadus saida. A range of organochlori nes (OCs) were quantified in blood, brain, liver, and subcutaneous fat tissue. For more than 80 % of the quantified OCs, r(2) values >0.75 w ere found for the blood-liver concentration correlations. Repeated sam pling revealed intra-individual temporal variability in blood OC conce ntrations. Much of the temporal variability in OC blood concentrations was associated with changes in nutritional condition. (C) 1998 Elsevi er Science Ltd. AII rights reserved.