Polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides bioaccumulated in green frogs, Rana clamitans, from the lower fraser valley, British Columbia, Canada

Seven adult green frogs (Rana clamitans) were collected from three sites adjacent to intensive agriculture in the lower Fraser River valley, BC Canada. The highest mean concentrations of chemicals were pp'DDE at 0.313 mu g/g lipid wt. and Aroclor 1254/1260 at 2.12 mu g/g lipid wt. On a lipid weight basis, both pp'DDE and PCB concentrations varied by almost an order of magnitude among sites. Only ortho-substituted PCB congeners were detected. The concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs measured in these frogs from British Columbia are unlikely to elicit negative effects in frogs.