Long-range transport of legacy organic pollutants affects alpine fish eaten by ospreys in western Canada

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) contaminate pristine, alpine environments through long-range transport in the atmosphere and glacier trapping. To study variation in POPs levels in western Canada, we measured levels in the prey (fish) of osprey (Pandion haliaetus) during 1999–2004, and compared those to levels in eggs and chicks. Values in fish muscle (representing human consumption) correlated with whole carcasses (wildlife consumption) for...