Trophic Transfer of Micropollutants and Their Metabolites in an Urban Riverine Food Web

Abstract

Trophic magnification factors (TMFs, i.e. the average change in the log-concentration of a pollutant per trophic level) have been extensively assessed for the so-called persistent organic pollutants, especially organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are biomagnified along the food web. In contrast, trophic dilution was documented for pollutants with a high metabolic transformation rate, such as phthalate plasticizers and PAHs (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons). However, the fate of their metabolites across the food web has been rarely investigated. In this comparative study, the trophodynamics of 104 micropollutants and 25 of their metabolites were investigated in a freshwater food web from the urban Orge River, France. Trophic levels were determined using stable isotopes. Pyrethroid pesticides and their metabolites were not detected. As predicted, PCBs and OCPs biomagnified (TMF > 1), while all chlorinated paraffins (CPs), PAHs and phthalates underwent a trophic dilution (TMF < 1). TMFs significantly decreased with metabolic transformation rate and increased with hydrophobicity. The levels of PAH or phthalate metabolites were not significantly correlated to trophic levels or underwent a trophic dilution. This study highlighted that the relative contribution of metabolite levels in TMF values calculated for both parent compound and its metabolite(s) is weak compared to TMF values of the parent compound only in a riverine food web.

New Role for a Commercially Available Bioinsecticide: Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner Biodegrades the Pyrethroid Cypermethrin

“…Also, the proposal of an extended biodegradation pathway expanded our knowledge about the fate of this pesticide in the environment, emphasizing the production of more polar compounds that may be carried to water bodies due to their increased hydrophilic character in relation to the pyrethroid Cyp. This metabolization to small phenolic compounds can explain the reason why pyrethroids are sometimes not detected in the environment …”

“…This metabolization to small phenolic compounds can explain the reason why pyrethroids are sometimes not detected in the environment. 59 3.7. Biodegradation in Soil.…”

River Basin Visions: Tools and Approaches from Yesterday to Tomorrow

“…Biomonitoring of PAH and phthalates is complex, since they are rapidly metabolized in aquatic organisms, especially fish. Therefore, we monitored the levels of key PAH and phthalate metabolites in aquatic organisms caught in the river, from primary producers to macroinvertebrates and fish in order to assess the bioaccumulation and transfer of these pollutants and their metabolites across the trophic web [16].…”

“…Green, primary producers (biofilm, leaf litter, macrophytes); red, macroinvertebrates (Gammarus sp., Lymnaea sp., Corbicula sp., leech); and yellow, fishes (roach, European perch, gudgeon, tench, bullhead, pumpkinseed and black bullhead). Concentration in ng/g dry weight (log scales) [16] 3…”

Determinants of Legacy Persistent Organic Pollutant Levels in the European Pond Turtle (Emys orbicularis) in the Camargue Wetland, France

“…Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) remain in the environment for decades because of their slow biodegradation and because of improper handling of contaminated wastes. Levels of POPs in animals increase with age (Vives et al 2005;Binnington and Wania 2014) and trophic level (Goutte et al 2020). Exposure to POPs causes a wide range of adverse effects, including neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, immune dysfunction, reproductive impairment, and developmental abnormalities, which may ultimately compromise survival and reproductive output and lead to population declines of wild vertebrates (Goutte et al 2014(Goutte et al , 2015Salice et al 2014).…”