Effects of environmental exposure and diet on levels of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in eggs of a top predator in the North Atlantic in 1980 and 2008

► POP levels in Great skua eggs are among the highest in North Atlantic seabirds. ► Legacy POPs decreased from 1980 to 2008 but PBDEs increased. ► Decreases in legacy POPs were greatest for least persistent compounds. ► Levels in eggs varied between nests according to diets of individual females. ► Levels of POPs were influenced slightly by changes in diet between decades.