The use of common swift (Apus apus), an aerial feeder bird, as a bioindicator of persistent organic microcontaminants.

SUMMARY: In this study we investigated the accumulation of polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), polychlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorodibenzofurans (PCDFs), and the chlorinated pesticides 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-ethene (DDE), 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(4-chlorophenyl)-ethane (DDT), and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) in the breast muscle, liver, lung, heart and brain tissues of adult common swifts (Apus apus, a long-lived aerial feeder bird). Individuals were collected in an urban area located in Rome during the breeding period. As shown by lipid-base normalized data, in general analytes had a significant minimum concentration in the brain. PCDD and PCDF concentration values in such tissue were approximately one order of magnitude lower than those found in breast muscle, heart, and lung tissues, and as much as two orders of magnitude below the relatively high levels found in the liver. PCB levels followed the same accumulation patterns. Of all analytes, HCB exhibited the most uniform distribution pattern over the five matrices assayed. DDE and DDT were by far the most and the least concentrated pesticide. In the urban environment of Rome, an air-to-swift bioconcentration factor (lipid based) in the order of 5 x 10(6) (2 x 10(5), fresh tissue base) was estimated for PCDDs and PCDFs. Our study suggests that airborne arthropod feeders, such us the common swift, are suitable biomonitors for air quality assessment.