Dietary Accumulation of PCBs from a Contaminated Sediment Source by a Demersal Fish Species (Leiostomus xanthurus)
Abstract
Accumulation and dietary transfer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from contaminated harbor sediments were studied in a laboratory food chain consisting of sediments, polychaetes (Nereis virens), and a predatory fish (Leiostomusxanthurus). The study was conducted in two phases to distinguish dietary uptake from PCB accumulation resulting from sediment exposure alone. In Phase I, fish and polychaetes were separately exposed to field-collected, PCB- contaminated sediments (5.2 ug/g dry weight as Aroclor 1242 and 1254) in flow- through seawater systems for 40 days to allow organisms to approach steady-state concentrations. In Phase II, the dietary fraction of PCB accumulation was determined by selectively feeding exposed and control groups of fish polychaetes having known PCB body burden. In addition, the effect of direct sediment contact on PCB accumulation by L. xanthurus was investigated. Results demonstrated that contaminated sediments can serve as a source of PCBs for uptake and trophic transfer in marine systems. Fish exposed to PCB-contaminated sediments and fed a daily diet of polychaetes from the same sediment accumulated more than twice the PCB whole-body residues than fish exposed to similar conditions but fed uncontaminated polychaetes.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA149415
Entities
People
- Norman I. Rubinstein
- Norman R. Gregory
- Wallace T. Gilliam