Lethality and bioaccumulation of 4‐nonylphenol in bluegill sunfish in littoral enclosures

Abstract

Abstract-Toxicity and bioaccumulation in bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) of 4-nonylphenol (NP), a common precursor and degradation intermediate of certain nonionic surfactants, were evaluated in a set of 18 aquatic mesocosms (littoral enclosures) in northeastern Minnesota. Nonylphenol was applied to enclosures every 48 h over a 20-d period (11 applications) at rates of 3, 30, 100, and 300 g/L. Additional enclosures served as untreated controls. Maximum NP levels in the integrated water column 2 h after each application averaged 5 Ϯ 4, 23 Ϯ 11, 76 Ϯ 21, and 243 Ϯ 41 g/L over the 11 applications at the 3-, 30-, 100-, and 300-g/L treatments, respectively. Sixty-one percent of the NP dissipated from the water column within ϳ39 h of each application. Estimated survival of stocked juvenile bluegills was significantly reduced at the 300-g/L NP treatment. No significant effects were noted at the other NP treatments; however, the 100-g/L enclosure with the highest mean NP concentration (93 Ϯ 39 g/L) within that treatment had four to nine times more dead bluegills and four to six times fewer bluegills captured at the end of the season than the other two 100-g/L enclosures (64 Ϯ 23 and 71 Ϯ 32 g/L) and the controls, suggesting increased mortality in this enclosure. Nonylphenol tissue concentrations in juvenile bluegills collected from enclosures treated with 3 and 30 g/L NP ranged from 0.01 to 2.94 g/g wet weight and showed a significant positive relationship with the average measured NP concentration in the water. The mean wet weight nonequilibrium NP bioaccumulation factor was 87 Ϯ 124. There was no relationship between fish lipid content and NP tissue concentration.

Comparative toxicity and bioconcentration of nonylphenol in freshwater organisms

“…Tissue concentrations in both species decreased rapidly when they were placed in clean water for up to 8 h after 96 h of exposure. The process of rapid uptake and steady state of nonylphenol followed by its rapid elimination in both fathead minnows and bluegills was similarly observed for freshwater [33][34][35] and saltwater organisms [6].…”

Upregulation of Cyclooxygenase-2 by 4-Nonylphenol is Mediated Through the Cyclic Amp Response Element Activation Pathway

“…NP may be one of the more dangerous EDCs owing to its toxicity, persistence, estrogenic effects, and abilities to bioconcentrate, bioaccumulate, and biomagnify in the environment (Liber et al, 1999;Tsuda et al, 2002). Surveys worldwide have detected NP in surface water, sediments, and industrial effluents (Blackburn & Waldock, 1995;Bennie et al, 1997;Tsuda et al, 2002).…”

“…NP is a degradation product of a class of chemicals referred to as nonylphenol ethoxylates, which are part of a broader group of compounds known as alkylphenol ethoxylates. Nonylphenol ethoxylates are nonionic surfactants used in pesticides, spermicides, cleaning agents, textiles, various agricultural chemicals, plastics, and paper products (Liber et al, 1999;John et al, 2000). NP is an endocrine-disrupting chemical (EDC) (Roy et al, 1997;Choi et al, 2004) and may be one of the more critical metabolites of nonylphenol ethoxylates because of its toxicity, persistence, estrogenic effects, and abilities to bioconcentrate, bioaccumulate, and biomagnify in the environment (Liber et al, 1999;Tsuda et al, 2002).…”

Nonylphenol, an Integrated Vision of a Pollutant

“…In an integrated evaluation of the persistence and effects of NP in a littoral enclosure, Liber et al [83,84] demonstrated that NP in water had a relatively short half life (≤1.2 d), whereas in sediment and macrophytes it was substantially longer (28 to 104 d and 8 to 13 d, respectively). These authors were not able to measure the half life in zooplankton and fish, but they report high survival rates.…”