Validation of the use of blood samples to assess tissue concentrations of organochlorines in glaucous gulls, Larus hyperboreus

Fifteen adult glaucous gulls, Larus hyperboreus, were captured near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. The birds were kept in captivity for 24–41 days and fed a diet of polar cod, Boreogadus saida. A range of organochlorines (OCs) were quantified in blood, brain, liver, and subcutaneous fat tissue. For more than 80% of the quantified OCs, r2 values >0.75 were found for the blood-liver concentration correlations. Repeated sampling revealed intra-individual temporal variability in blood OC concentrations. Much of the temporal variability in OC blood concentrations was associated with changes in nutritional condition.