**4. Impact assessment, environmental management, and monitoring implications**

The Ecuadorian Pedro Vicente Maldonado Scientific Station has been operated since 1988 shortly after Ecuador signed the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) in 1987. In 1988, Ecuador became an associated member of the Scientific Committee for Antarctic Research (SCAR), and in November 1990 became a consultative member of the ATS [56, 57]. To accomplish this task, Ecuador fulfilled the Antarctic Treaty of "peaceful purposes" and "freedom of scientific investigation" [58]. The commitment to the protection of the Antarctic environment requires being in compliance with the Madrid Protocol, which since 1991 is the prime basis for envi‐ ronmental management of the Antarctic terrestrial and near‐shore environments. At the Maldonado Station, the Antarctic environmental management program deploys and integra‐ tes a range of generic and international tools, including environmental impact assessments (EIAs), monitoring of pollutants in the marine environment, species and habitat protection, following the environmental principles of the Madrid Protocol, and the administrative and procedural mechanisms of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP) [58]. The Ecuadorian Antarctic Institute (INAE) has established good environmental practices, and trained their staff and visitors with a conduct code according to the Madrid Protocol. During the 2010–2011 period, an EIA was performed by the INAE [59] to establish the baseline conditions of the military base and research station, including its area of influence, developing the Environmental Management Plan for the activities taken place at the Maldonado Station.

Considering that local activities and maritime traffic can pollute the surroundings of the Maldonado Station and Antarctic Peninsula, results from impact assessments and monitoring of water quality and potential contaminants have revealed the presence of other anthropogenic pollutants such as hydrocarbons and pesticides in the marine environment [59]. For instance, analyses of total hydrocarbons (THCs) were performed in water samples at the Guayaquil Bay, where concentrations ranged from 0.3 mg/L in sites near the Maldonado Station to 0.85 mg/L at Chile Bay [59]. Pesticide concentrations at several sites of Chile Bay revealed the presence of the organochlorine insecticides, including lindane or γ-hexachlorocyclohexane (γ-HCH) (i.e., 0.335 mg/L) and β-hexachlorocyclohexane (β-HCH or beta-BHC) (i.e., 0.00072 mg/L), as well as traces of the organophosphate malathion and the herbicide atrazine [59]. The longrange atmospheric transport associated with direct deposition or precipitation of volatile organic chemical is now recognized as a major pathway by which pesticides can be transported and deposited in surface waters and ice of Antarctica thousands of kilometers far from their sources [60–62]. Although relatively low concentrations of some PFCs were observed in biota and sediments samples of the remote western Antarctic Peninsula environment and local sources associated with scientific stations and military bases appear to not be significant sources of PFCs, this study gives further evidence of background concentrations around the Antarctic. Results from this study are consistent with research showing that volatile PFCs are subject to atmospheric long-range transport to remote regions, contributing to the contami‐ nation of persistent PFCA and PFSA compounds in the Antarctic [11, 44].

Despite the limited sampling and the need for replication to confirm the findings of this study, the biological (lichens, feathers, feces) and abiotic (sediments) samples assessed in this work can be used as environmental matrices to track the fate of PFCs at various temporal and spatial scales in Antarctica. Of particular importance is the detection of several PFC compounds in seabird feces and lichens, which can be used as matrices for noninvasive sampling and longterm monitoring programs of PFCs in the Antarctic Peninsula. Long-term air monitoring and sampling of volatile PFCs in the Antarctica Peninsula is also recommended to elucidate atmospheric sources to the Maldonado's Station and surrounding environment.
