PARENT SESSION

2N (1) - Field Studies
Hall 6
1:45 PM - 3:30 PM, Monday, 28 April 2003
Chair: Liess, M.¹, Berghahn, R.², ^{1 2}

(MO6/12) Organochlorine compounds and heavy metals in hair, spine, blood and organ samples of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europeaus L.).

D'Havé, Helga ^{1, 2}, Scheirs, Jan², Verhagen, Ron ², Covaci, Adrian ³, Schepens, Paul³, Mubiana Kayawe, Valentine¹, Blust, Ronny¹, De Coen, Wim¹, ¹ Laboratory for Ecophysiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, University of Antwerp (RUCA), Groenenborgerlaan 171 (U7), Antwerp, Belgium² Evolutionary Biology Group, University of Antwerp (RUCA), Antwerp, Belgium³ Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp (UIA), Antwerp, Belgium

ABSTRACT- In terrestrial ecotoxicology, there is a lack of relevant indicator species among higher vertebrates. Hedgehogs are a good candidate indicator species for ecotoxicological field research. They have a wide distribution but live in a confined home range. Hedgehogs are also easy to catch, mark and handle. Feeding mainly on invertebrates, there is possibly biomagnification of pollutants in this species. However, little is known on the accumulation of pollutants in the hedgehog. An additional bottle-neck in conventional exposure and effect studies is that most research is destructive, thereby sacrificing animals. Apart from ethical problems, this approach is inappropriate for long-term field studies as it influences the study populations and makes it impossible to follow up individuals in time. The use of traffic victims may circumvent this problem. In the present study, covering seven field populations in a pollution gradient in Antwerp (Belgium), hair and spine samples of 195 hedgehog individuals and blood samples of 57 animals have been analysed for heavy metals and organochlorine compounds. Tissue samples of 50 animals (traffic victims as well as animals from wildlife rehabilitation centres) were analysed. Heavy metals were analysed by means of ICP-MS, whereas detection of organochlorine compounds was conducted by GC-MS. The potential use of toxicant loads in hair, spines and blood as non-destructive methods for exposure assessment to persistent pollutants is discussed.

Key words: persistent pollutants, hedgehog, hair, blood