Lipophilic organic compounds in lake sediment and Americancoot (Fulica americana) tissues, both affected and unaffected byavian vacuolar myelinopathy

Avian vacuolar myelinopathy (AVM) is a disease of unknown etiology, which has been diagnosed in a variety ofbirds from surface water reservoirs in the southeastern United States.Pathology suggests a natural or anthropogeniccompound may be the cause of this disease.With the goal of identifying the toxicant that causes AVM, wequalitatively analyzed sediments and American coot (Fulica americana) tissues from reservoirs that were affectedand unaffected by AVM using high-resolution gas chromatographic low-resolution mass spectrometry.Polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs), octachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, and biogenic and anthropogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(such as retene) were the most abundant compounds in the sediment.Penta- and hexachlorobenzene, oxychlordane,p,p9-DDE, dieldrin, and polychlorinated biphenyls were the most abundant compounds in the avian tissues.None ofthese compounds were more abundant in the AVM affected sediments and tissues than in the unaffected media.Therefore, it is unlikely that any of these compounds are the cause of this avian disease.

Nathan G.Dodder et al., The Science of the Total Environment 311 (2003) 81-89