MOULTONBOROUGH — The Loon Preservation Committee has released a report documenting the widespread presence of chemical contaminants in inviable Common Loon eggs taken from failed loon nests on lakes throughout New Hampshire. As fish-eaters, loons are important sentinels of the health of aquatic ecosystems, especially when measuring contaminants that magnify at higher levels of aquatic food webs.
LPC tested 81 eggs from 24 lakes for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), flame retardants (polybrominated diphenyl ethers or BDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and organochlorine pesticides, including DDT and chlordane. The effects of these contaminants on loons are unknown, but up to 60 percent of eggs tested exceeded levels documented to cause negative health or reproductive effects in other bird species in at least one of the contaminant classes.
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Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.