Biomagnification of PBDEs in Three Small Terrestrial Food Chains

Abstract

Eight polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) congeners (IUPAC nos. 28, 47, 99, 100, 153, 154, 183, and 209) were measured in passerines (great tits--Parus major), wood mice (Apodemus sylvaticus), and bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus). These data were combined with previously obtained data on PBDEs in common buzzards (Buteo buteo), sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes). This enabled estimation of the biomagnification potential of PBDEs in the following three terrestrial food chains: great tit--sparrowhawk, small rodents--buzzard, and small rodents--fox. Biomagnification of BDE 209 could not be assessed because levels of this congener were below the LOQ in the prey species. All other congeners, except BDE 28, were biomagnified in both predatory bird species. Biomagnification of BDE 28 could not be observed from rodents to buzzard. Biomagnification factors (BMFs) were calculated as the ratio between the lipid-normalized concentrations in the predator and in the prey. BMFs ranged from 2 to 34 for the sum of PBDEs in predatory bird food chain. Although the fox is a top-predator, this is not reflected in the PBDE concentrations that were measured in its tissues. In the small rodent-fox food chain, no biomagnification could be observed. This observation is most likely related to the high metabolic capacity of the fox with regard to organohalogens and should be taken into account when selecting species for environmental monitoring purposes. Not all top-predators will give a representative reflection of the pollution of their habitat, but confounding factors, such as metabolism, can influence the results to a great extent and can therefore lead to misinterpretations.

Bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and several alternative halogenated flame retardants in a small herbivorous food chain

“…BMF increased up to log K OW values of w8 (r 2 ¼ 0.92, p < 0.00001), and then markedly decreased with further increasing K OW s. The slope of the BMFelog K OW model was 2.4 when log K OW <8, indicating that BMF approximately doubled with each unit increase in log K OW . This relationship was consistent with those previously found in carnivores food chains, e.g., roachepike (Burreau et al, 2004), passerineesparrowhawk, and rodentebuzzard (Voorspoels et al, 2007), although the K OW s for biomagnification decline were not identical among those food chains. The decrease of the BMFs for higher brominated congeners (log K OW > w8) is likely due to their reduced bioavailability, biodegradation in vivo, and potentially inaccurate K OW estimates for these superhydrophobic congeners (Burreau et al, 2004;Voorspoels et al, 2007).…”

“…BDE 153 showed the highest BMF value among the investigated PBDEs, indicating that it is a highly bioaccumulative congener in the investigated herbivore food chain. Greater biomagnification potential for BDE 153 compared to other BDE congeners was also observed in the carnivore food chains, e.g., ringed sealsepolar bears and rodente buzzard pairs (Muir et al, 2006;Voorspoels et al, 2007). For the AHFRs, BMFs can only be established for DP, due to the low levels of the other AHFRs in the apple snails.…”

Accumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers in the brain compared with the levels in other tissues among different vertebrates from an e-waste recycling site

“…Gebbink et al (2008) reported that, on a wet-weight basis, PBDE concentrations in the brains were one twentieth of those in the livers of polar bears from East Greenland. Additionally, on a lipid-weight basis, PBDE concentrations in brains were found to be significantly lower than those in other tissues of ducks, chickens, buzzards, owls and sparrow hawks Voorspoels et al, 2006Voorspoels et al, , 2007Yang et al, 2011;Zhang et al, 2008). A recent study of wild frogs also showed lower accumulation of PBDEs in the brain relative to other tissues (Li et al, 2014).…”

Biomagnification of Higher Brominated PBDE Congeners in an Urban Terrestrial Food Web in North China Based on Field Observation of Prey Deliveries

“…Few studies have demonstrated the biomagnification of PBDEs in terrestrial food web. 9 Here we examined the BMF values (the ratio of lipid-normalized concentrations between predator and prey) for PBDEs in several common kestrel food chains ( Table 2). The BMF values for ∑PBDEs ranged from 1.6À6.9, indicating biomagnification of PBDEs in all examined food chains.…”