In this study, total mercury (THg) variations of Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris) eggs laid on Baengnyeongdo, West Sea of Korea were compared between within- and among clutch in order to ensure statistical representativeness of an egg sampling method. In the ANOVA analysis, the THg variation (59%) among clutches was much higher than within-clutch (27%). This means that the mercury variation of sampled eggs was significantly influenced by the mercury variation among female individuals occupying different nests. In spite of relatively smaller variation of THg in the within-clutch, the THg concentration depending on an egg-laying sequence within a clutch significantly appeared higher in the first-laid eggs rather than the second-laid eggs. Therefore, it is necessary to take one egg from one nest in order to sample more nests in terms of better sampling representativeness. Also, one egg selection from one nest should be consistently applied in order to ensure comparability of mercury concentrations among monitoring sites and monitoring years.

Sea gulls are high trophic level consumers in the coastal environment, and thus, which have been widely used to monitor contamination biomagnified through a food web. However, such monitoring studies using sea gulls have been rare in the Korean literature. The National Environmental Specimen Bank chose eggs of a black-tailed gulls (Larus crassirostris) to serve as an environmental specimen for the long-term monitoring of the coastal ecosystem affected by terrestrial pollutants. Black-tailed gull eggs were collected from Baengnyeongdo, Hongdo and Uleungdo, and their DDTs and total mercury content were determined. The highest concentration of ΣDDTs was 231.6±106.1 μg/kg wet in Baengnyeongdo, followed by 230.0±123.8 μg/kg wet in Ulleungdo, and 117.7±18.3 μg/kg wet in Hongdo. In addition, total mercury was detected at 414.5±97.6 μg/kg wet in Ulleungdo, 363.9±123.6 μg/kg wet in Hongdo, and 237.5±42.3 μg/kg wet in Baengnyeongdo. Relatively high concentrations of the target pollutants were recorded in specimens from Ulleungdo. Additional comprehensive and prolonged studies are required to elucidate spatial and temporal patterns of contamination in black-tailed gull eggs with regard to monitoring contaminant trends in eggs and prey.