Raptors: The New 'Coalmine Canaries'?

UK coalmines used to house Canaries underground. The bird's collapse served to warn the miners of the presence of toxic gases. Raptors ('birds of prey') occupy the apex of food chains. This means that they 'biomagnify' chemicals, appearing in the environment. We simply do not have toxicity data for many 'low volume' products. Measurement of contaminants in raptors (e.g., in their feathers) can warn us of the next toxin time-bomb (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/25/how-birds-of-prey-are-exposing-a-toxic-time-bomb). For example, mass spectrometry studies of tissue from 30 White-tailed eagles, from Northern Germany, found they had 85 contaminants. The pollutants included pharmaceuticals; musk fragrances; pesticides and PFASs ('forever chemicals'). Another study also found PFASs in the tissues of Norwegian Eagle owls. Other raptor studies recorded new flame retardants; UV filters from sunscreens and plastic additives such as bisphenols, in their tisues. Long-banned chemicals, such as the insecticide DDT, still turn up in samples from raptors. Raptor studies are clearly useful for tracking the spread of potentially health-damaging environmental pollutants. Perhaps, however, it would be more sensible not to employ new chemicals, until their toxicities have been properly assessed.