Migrating seabirds are bringing forever chemicals into the Arctic

New research from McGill graduate shows how toxic chemicals hitch a ride with seabirds flying from southern latitudes to the Arctic

Between March and May each year, 15 million black-legged kittiwakes gather from across the North Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to nest and breed on rocky Arctic cliffs—some making the journey from as far as Florida or North Africa.

But a new study led by Don-Jean Léandri-Breton, while he was a doctoral candidate in McGill University's Department of Natural Resource Sciences, suggests these seabirds don’t arrive empty-handed. They carry souvenirs from the south: forever chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) picked up in more polluted southern waters.

Léandri-Breton, who recently completed his PhD under the co-supervision of Professor Kyle Elliott, told Hakai Magazine that hopes his research illustrates how migratory species geographically connect different environments—for better or worse. “If you just look into one part of their life, you don’t have the full picture,” he says. “What they do in one season can affect the next.”