Analysis of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in Herring Gull Eggs in the Great Lakes

The Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CEC) herring gull project will be a landscape scale project conducted within the Great Lakes basin to evaluate the status and trends of CECs through the analysis of herring gull eggs already collected from U.S. colonies. Dr. William Bowerman of the University of Maryland and formerly of Clemson University has led the U.S. egg collection program and coordinates the analyses of legacy contaminants (e.g. PCBs and DDT) in these eggs in conjunction with the Great Lakes Herring Gull Monitoring Program (GLHGMP). Through this ongoing partnership, the USFWS East Lansing Field Office (ELFO) Environmental Contaminants (EC) Program will analyze a representative sub-sample or aliquot of individually archived herring gull eggs and composites from selected colonies sampled in the U.S. since the inception of herring gull egg collection in the U.S. The list of analytes will be coordinated with Carleton University and Environment Canada based on their latest CEC findings in the eggs they have most recently analyzed for the GLHGMP. The analysis of CECs will initially include colonies of Isle Royale National Park and Grand Traverse Bay, as well as within U.S. Areas of Concern (AOCs) including: Saginaw Bay, River Raisin, and the St. Mary's River.