Concentration and bioaccumulation of organochlorine pesticide residues in herons and their prey in wetlands of Thermaikos Gulf, Macedonia, Greece

Concentrations of the principal organochlorine insecticides were determined in eggs and freshly dead chicks of the Squacco heron (Ardeola ralloides), Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) and Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), as well as in frogs (Rana sp.), the main heron prey. Material was collected from the wetlands of the Thermaikos Gulf (Macedonia, northern Greece) in 1992 and 1993. Residues of the organochlorine pesticides α-BHC, β-BHC, lindane, 4,4′-DDD, 4,4′-DDE, heptachlor and dieldrin were found in the eggs, chicks and prey of the herons. α-BHC, β-BHC, and lindane had highest concentration in the Night Heron and lowest in the Little Egret. In all samples examined, the bioconcentration factors (BCF) of these compounds had very high values. BCF of pollutants for the eggs of the Squacco Heron were at lower levels than those of its chicks. BCF for frogs were in almost all cases lower than those for the other samples. Biomagnification factor (BMF) for 4,4′-DDE and β-BHC had the highest values of all other compounds (except in the Night Heron). BMF for the eggs of the Squacco Heron were greater than for its chicks. Variation in the pesticide contents in the different heron species is attributed to different feeding habits; the exception being the occurrence of dieldrin in eggs only and 4,4′-DDE as a remnant of past spraying. Amounts of pesticides detected in this study are too low to affect eggshell thickness in the Squacco Heron or have other effects on the wildlife of the area.