Concentrations of organic pollutants in seabirds from the tropical southwestern Atlantic Ocean are explained by differences in foraging ecology

Persistent organic pollutants are a potential threat for marine vertebrates in both coastal and offshore areas. In this study, organic pollutants were evaluated in the blood and feathers of four seabird species that forage in the tropical southwestern Atlantic Ocean. Red-billed tropicbirds (Phaethon aethereus) and brown boobies (Sula leucogaster) were sampled in the Abrolhos Archipelago, 70 km from the coast, and used as proxies of nearshore …