Coralie Turquois, PhD student at l’UQAM, under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Verreault.
Project title : Fluorinated Compounds in Cities and the Risks to Ring-billed Gulls
Summary of the research project :
Her project is about fluorinated compounds in cities and the risks to ring-billed gulls We hear a lot about fluorinated compounds, PFAS, and their effects on human health, but we’re not the only ones affected. My research focuses on ring-billed gulls that nest in Montreal, a highly urbanized area. These birds accumulate high levels of PFAS, persistent chemical compounds that can disrupt their hormones and energy metabolism. By tracking the gulls with GPS for three days over three years, I studied their movements and feeding behavior and measured PFAS in their blood, as well as a range of hormonal and metabolic markers. The result: the more the gulls visited industrial areas, the higher their PFAS levels. What’s more, the effects varied by sex. For example, in males, PFAS were associated with a decrease in an energy marker, β-hydroxybutyrate, while in females, this marker increased. Our results suggest that urban and industrial environments expose gulls to substances that may be detrimental to their health. These results underline the importance of a more detailed study of energy metabolism, in particular by investigating lipid reserves and their mobilization.