Table 8.10b  Contaminant Levels in Herring Gull Eggs from Colonies in Lake Michigan, 1974-1999

Year DDE Dieldrin Mirex HCB PCBs
           
  parts per million in whole egg samples, wet weight
           
1974 na na na na na
1975 na na na na na
1976 33.40 0.82 0.36 0.14 118.42
1977 29.25 0.68 0.14 0.24 107.79
1978 22.36 0.87 0.21 0.12 90.74
1979 na na na na na
1980 12.17 0.70 0.10 0.09 57.83
1981 na na na na na
1982 15.86 0.81 0.09 0.09 65.41
1983 6.46 0.61 0.05 0.05 30.27
1984 7.85 0.53 0.09 0.06 31.47
1985 6.98 0.47 0.12 0.05 31.94
1986 7.48 0.38 0.07 0.07 27.25
1987 3.95 0.33 0.06 0.04 16.58
1988 5.04 0.55 0.03 0.04 19.14
1989 4.74 0.54 0.04 0.04 21.00
1990 8.12 0.54 0.06 0.05 32.19
1991 10.22 0.34 0.12 0.05 31.27
1992 6.70 0.41 0.05 0.04 20.25
1993 9.56 0.32 0.09 0.06 33.75
1994 9.29 0.37 0.09 0.05 30.81
1995 6.38 0.19 0.05 0.03 23.28
1996 5.02 0.18 0.06 0.04 19.78
1997 7.40 0.18 0.03 0.02 33.32
1998 5.15 0.09 0.03 0.01 24.61
1999 5.04 0.14 0.02 0.02 23.42

Source:  Environment Canada, Canadian Wildlife Service, Canada Centre for Inland Waters, Organochlorine Contaminant Concentrations in Herring Gull Eggs from Great Lakes Colonies, unpublished, Burlington, ON, 2000.

Notes:  DDE = Derivative of Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro ethane (DDT). HCB = Hexachloro-benzene. PCBs = Polychlorinated biphenyls. na = not available. Data for Lake Michigan for 1996 are based on only one count per sampling site.

Last Updated on Tuesday, September 28, 1999