German Environment Specimen Bank (GESB) fish tissue samples,
collected
from 14 different GESB locations, were analyzed for 15 pharmaceuticals,
2 pharmaceutical metabolites, and 12 personal care products. Only
2 pharmaceuticals, diphenhydramine and desmethylsertraline, were measured
above MDL. Diphenhydramine (0.04–0.07 ng g–1 ww) and desmethylsertraline (1.65–3.28 ng g–1 ww) were measured at 4 and 2 locations, respectively. The maximum
concentrations of galaxolide (HHCB) (447 ng g–1 ww)
and tonalide (AHTN) (15 ng g–1 ww) were measured
at the Rehlingen sampling site in the Saar River. A significant decrease
in HHCB and AHTN fish tissue concentrations was observed from 1995
to 2008 at select GESB sampling sites (r
2 = 0.69–0.89 for galaxolide and 0.89–0.97 for tonalide
with p < 0.003). Galaxolide and tonalide fish
tissue concentrations in Germany were ∼19× and ∼28×
lower, respectively, as compared to fish tissue concentrations measured
in a United States nationwide PPCP study conducted in 2006. Proximity
of the sampling locations to the upstream wastewater treatment plant
discharging point and mean annual flow at the sampling location were
found to significantly predict galaxolide and tonalide fish tissue
concentrations (HHCB: r
2 = 0.79, p = 0.021 and AHTN: r
2 = 0.81, p = 0.037) in Germany.
Levels and trends of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) compounds in bream (Abramis brama) from different European sites were compared. Bream were collected between 2007 and 2013 in the estuaries of the rivers Scheldt (Netherlands), Rhône (France), Göta älv (Sweden), Tees (United Kingdom), and Mersey (UK), and in Lake Belau (Germany). A direct mercury analyzer was used to determine THg concentrations while MeHg was measured by gas chromatography/inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry applying stable isotope dilution. THg and MeHg in annual pool samples of bream ranged between 15.9 and 251 μg kg(-1) wet weight (ww) with lowest concentrations found at the reference site Lake Belau and highest in samples from the river Rhône. The EU environmental quality standard (EQS) of 20 μg kg(-1) ww was exceeded at all sites and in all years except at Lake Belau in 2012. Significantly decreasing trends over time were observed only in bream from the Rhône, while THg increased in bream from the Western Scheldt. The MeHg fractions of THg were always >80% and a significant difference between sites was detected only in one case (Rhône vs. Lake Belau).
Overall, the results indicate that environmental burdens of HBCD are decreasing at those locations where point sources and more diffuse emissions are expected.
This article documents the addition of 139 microsatellite marker loci and 90 pairs of single-nucleotide polymorphism sequencing primers to the Molecular Ecology Resources Database. Loci were developed for the following species: Aglaoctenus lagotis, Costus pulverulentus, Costus scaber, Culex pipiens, Dascyllus marginatus, Lupinus nanus Benth, Phloeomyzus passerini, Podarcis muralis, Rhododendron rubropilosum Hayata var. taiwanalpinum and Zoarces viviparus. These loci were cross-tested on the following species: Culex quinquefasciatus, Rhododendron pseudochrysanthum Hay. ssp. morii (Hay.) Yamazaki and R. pseudochrysanthum Hayata. This article also documents the addition of 48 sequencing primer pairs and 90 allele-specific primers for Engraulis encrasicolus.
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