A Potential New Threat to Wild Life: Presence of UV Filters in Bird Eggs from a Preserved Area

The present study uses bird eggs of seven wild species as a biomonitoring tool for sunscreens occurrence. Seven UV filters (UV-Fs), including 3 hydroxy-metabolites of oxybenzone (benzophenone 3, BP3) were characterized in unhatched eggs from Doñana Natural Space (Spain). High frequency of detection was observed for all UV-Fs, ranging from 95% to 100%. The oxybenzone metabolite 4-hydroxybenzophenone (4HB) was ubiquitous at concentrations in the range 12.0–3348 ng g –1 dry weight (dw). The parent compound, oxybenzone, was also present in all samples at lower concentrations (16.9–49.3 ng g –1 dw). Due to the three BP3′s metabolites, benzophenone 1 (BP1), 4HB, and 4,4′-dihydroxybenzophenone (4DHB) presence in unhatched eggs, it can be inferred that parent compounds are absorbed into the bird through the upper gut and the OH-derivatives formed are transferred by the mother to the egg before the lying. White stork ( Ciconia ciconia ) and western marsh harrier (Circus aeruginosus) were the most contaminated species, with mean total UV-Fs concentrations of 834 and 985 ng g –1 dw, respectively. Results evidenced that biomagnification process across the bird species studied cannot be ruled out.