Assessment of native and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments and mussels (Mytilus spp.) in the southern Baltic Sea.

Native and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in whole and fine grained (F < 63 µm) sediment fractions and mussels in the southern Baltic Sea. Both sediments and mussels showed spatial differences in PAH levels and profiles. In whole sediments, mean concentrations of Σ16PAHs, ΣaPAHs, and ΣPAHs reached up to 1537, 415, and 1952 ng g-1 dry weight (dw), respectively, and in mussels they reached up to 235, 143, and 325 ng g-1 dw, respectively, depending on location. ΣaPAHs made up to 36% of ΣPAHs in whole sediments and up to 55% in some mussels in the Gulf of Gdansk. The association of PAHs with the sediment F < 63 µm differed depending on the PAH compound and season. Analysis of PAH sources was done using PCA and the ratios of specific compound concentrations. The sediment and mussel PAH levels evaluated against environmental quality criteria indicated no risk related to PAH occurrence in the study area.

Variability of biological indices, biomarkers, and organochlorine contaminants in flounder (Platichthys flesus) in the Gulf of Gdansk, southern Baltic Sea.

Biological indices, biomarkers (EROD activity, DNA SB, 1-OH pyrene), and organochlorine contaminants were investigated in flounder collected in the Gulf of Gdansk during March-December 2011 to describe their seasonal variability and interrelations. Univariate and multivariate statistics were used to evaluate the relations. The EROD activity positively correlated with DNA SB, both negatively correlated with CF, GSI, and HSI, and there was a moderate positive correlation for EROD and DNA SB with 1-OH pyrene. EROD highest activity corresponded to a resting stage of gonad development. DNA SB, highest during spawning, gradually decreased until late autumn. The PCBs, DDTs, HCB, HCHs, dieldrin, and heptachlor levels in muscle tissue were quantified on a wet and lipid basis. In each case, their levels decreased after spawning, fluctuated over the study period indicating that their accumulation was pronouncedly controlled by chemical-specific properties, their levels in prey, and lipid dynamics.

An integrated assessment of pollution and biological effects in flounder, mussels and sediment in the southern Baltic Sea coastal area.

Organic and metal contaminants and biological effects were investigated in flounder, mussels, and sediments in the southern Baltic Sea coastal area in order to assess environmental quality status in that area. Four sites were selected, including two within the Gulf of Gdansk (GoG). In biota and sediment at each site, DDTs dominated over PCBs and PBDEs were the least abundant among organic contaminants. Their concentrations decreased progressively outward from GoG. Among metal contaminants, the levels of Hg, Pb, and Cd were elevated in GoG. Biomarkers in flounder, EROD activity and DNA SB, showed moderate positive correlations with organic and metal contaminants. In flounder, the integrated biomarker index (IBR/n) presented a spatial trend coherent with chemical pollution index (CPI), but there was no clear spatial correspondence between IBR/n and CPI in mussels nor between sediment toxicity index (STI) and sediment CPI. The integrated assessment of contaminant and biological effect data against available assessment criteria indicated that in biota, the contaminant assessment thresholds were most often exceeded by CB-118, heptachlor, PBDE, and Hg (in the GoG sediments by p,p'-DDT, Hg and Cd), while of the biological determinants, the threshold was breeched by AChE activity in mussels in GoG. Applying the ICES/OSPAR traffic-light approach showed that of the 50 parameters assessed at each site, there were 18% of determinants in the red color category in the two GoG sites and 8% of determinants in the two sites outside GoG, which indicated that none of the four investigated sites attained good environmental status (GES).

DNA damage, EROD activity, condition indices, and their linkages with contaminants in female flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the southern Baltic Sea.

The Baltic Sea is considered as one of the marine areas most exposed to human impacts. A variety of chemical contaminants pose a threat to the habitants. Female flounder (Platichthys flesus) collected from three locations in the southern Baltic Sea in February 2010 were examined for biomarkers of exposure to genotoxic agents (DNA damage), AhR-active contaminants (ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, EROD activity), and somatic condition indexes. Organochlorine contaminants (OCs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites were also measured in individual flounder to evaluate the biological responses in the context of contaminant burden. The genotoxicity, mildly exceeding a background level, revealed a significant relationship with mono-ortho substituted PCB (m-oPCB). Hepatic EROD activity was highly induced, yet showed no association with any of the contaminants measured other than biliary 1-OH pyrene normalized to pigment absorbance. Significant negative relationships were observed for lipid-based OCs and the gonado-somatic index (GSI) as well as for Æ©m-oPCB concentrations and the condition factor (CF). Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed an overall connection between somatic condition indexes, biomarkers, and chemical variables. Of the three locations, flounder inhabiting the Gulf of Gdansk had the greatest contaminant burden and appeared to be the most affected. Of great concern is the reduced GSI in this location which can be attributed to the effects of contaminants and warrants further investigation.

Comparison of common persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the Vistula (Poland) and Douro (Portugal) River estuaries.

Groups of flounder (Platichthys flesus) females were collected in 2011 from the Vistula River and the Duoro River estuaries and corresponding reference sites in the southern Baltic Sea and Portuguese coast of the Atlantic Ocean to measure and compare the levels and profiles of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). The estuaries' sediments were also investigated. Several differences were found in the POPs between the estuaries and between the two marine regions, which were highlighted by PCA. The Vistula River estuary POPs, significantly higher than in the Douro River estuary, were dominated by DDTs followed by PCBs. PBDEs levels, indifferent between the estuaries, were relatively low. The POP levels in flounder and sediment evaluated against environmental assessment criteria (EACs) indicated that none of the measured contaminants for which EAC had been established exceeded the criterion, except for CB-118 in flounder from the Vistula River estuary.

Sediment contaminants and contaminant levels and biomarkers in caged mussels (Mytilus trossulus) in the southern Baltic Sea.

Sediment from four southern Baltic Sea locations and caged mussels were analyzed for PCBs, organochlorine pesticides and metals (Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, Hg). In mussels, which were additionally analyzed for 16 individual PAHs, a set of biomarker responses was measured to derive an integrated biomarker response (IBR) index as a part of integrative assessment of pollution in this area. Concentrations of PCBs, ΣDDT, and metals in sediment and mussels, greatest within the Gulf of Gdansk area, showed decreasing gradients outwards from the Gulf. Sediment quality quotients (SQQs) and biological impact quotients (BIQs), reflecting on sediment- and mussel-accumulated contaminants' potential for biological effects, respectively, pointed out to the Gulf of Gdansk to be of greatest concern among the examined sites. The IBRs corresponded poorly with the SQQs and BIQs, nevertheless, provided a line of evidence indicative of biological effects of contaminants to support more complex processes of environmental status assessment.

Bioaccumulation of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in flounder (Platichthys flesus) in the southern Baltic Sea.

Concentrations of seven polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) congeners were examined in flounder (Platichthys flesus) and sediment in three southern Baltic Sea sites, representing a range of exposure conditions, in order to evaluate spatial differences in PBDE contamination. Additionally, PBDEs were measured in muscle, liver, and gonads of flounder from one of the sites in order to examine inter-tissue distribution. Mean muscle Σ(7)PBDE levels, in the range of 10-21 ng g(-1) lipid, showed inter-site differences attributed to the distance from the Gulf of Gdansk, and were overall lower than reported earlier in herring, sprat, and salmon. Biota sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) for Σ(7)PBDE and individual BDE congeners, in the range of 0.5-24.5, were generally consistent with predicted models for persistent hydrophobic halogenated contaminants. Wet weight (wet wt) PBDE levels in muscle and liver, but not in gonads, were related to tissue lipid content and did not correlate with the fish length and weight. These tissues differed in PBDE levels and profiles as a result of varying lipid content and presumably lipid composition and congener-specific physico-chemical properties.

Histopathological, histomorphometrical, and immunohistochemical biomarkers in flounder (Platichthys flesus) from the southern Baltic Sea.

Flounder (Platichthys flesus), collected in late fall of 2009 from four coastal sites in the southern Baltic Sea including the Gulf of Gdansk (GoG), were investigated for a suite of biomarkers of contaminant effects. The biomarkers included liver histopathologies, which were diagnosed and assessed using commonly applied lesion categories, the size and density of melano-macrophage aggregates (MMAs), expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) in liver as well as the size and density of MMAs and density of Perls'-positive cells in the spleen. The prevalence of liver lesions differed among the sites. Most frequently occurring were non-specific and early toxicopathic non-neoplastic lesions. Mean MMA size was in the range of 264-519 µm(2) and 717-2137 µm(2) in liver and spleen, respectively, and density was in the range of 6-13 and 15-26 MMAmm(-2), respectively. Mean density of PCNA-positive hepatocytes was in the range of 300-1281 cellsmm(-2). These histomorphometrical biomarkers correlated positively with the muscle Hg, Σ(7)PCB, and ΣDDT residues and negatively with the indices of general liver condition. They showed significant differences between the sites, which were in line with the spatial prevalence of liver lesions and CYP1A induction. Overall, the biomarker responses were more pronounced in the GoG sites in comparison to those outside the Gulf, which confirms some earlier results and broadens the knowledge of contaminant effects in the Polish coastal zone of the Baltic Sea.

Bioassay-derived dioxin equivalent concentrations in gonads and livers of the Atlantic cod females from the Baltic Sea.

The DR-H4IIE.Luc bioassay is based on the ability of dioxin and dioxin-like contaminants to activate the AhR and its signal transduction pathway, a mechanism through which these contaminants elicit their toxic effects. The bioassay was used to examine the total dioxin-equivalent (TEQ) toxicity in gonads and livers of cod females from the southern Baltic Sea. The bioassay-derived TEQ-luc was measured after 24-h and 48-h exposure periods. Mean concentrations in the 24-h bioassay were 95 and 35 pg TEQ-luc g(-1) lipid in gonads and livers, respectively, and 58 and 38 pg TEQ-luc g(-1) lipid in the 48-h bioassay, respectively. The 48-h TEQ-luc levels displayed significant relationships with ΣPCB(7) and selected PCB congeners but not with the TEQ(DLPCB-REP). Levels in gonads approached 10% of the LC50 for developing larvae of other marine fish, yet the impact on survival of the cod during its early life remains to be assessed in a future.

Inter-tissue distribution and evaluation of potential toxicity of PCBs in Baltic cod (Gadus morhua L.).

PCBs measured in the muscle, liver, and gonads of cod collected from two locations in the southern Baltic were evaluated as total (summation operator PCBs), indicator (summation operator PCB(7)), and dioxin-like (summation operator DL-PCBs) concentrations. Gender, tissue lipid content, and collection site were important determinants of PCB levels. Irrespective of collection site, lipid-normalized summation operator PCBs, summation operator PCB(7), and summation operator DL-PCBs in females were the lowest in the muscle, and of similar levels in liver and gonads. In males the concentrations had a decreasing order of liver >muscle >gonads. Despite the gender differences in tissue levels, the profiles were fairly similar in both genders and sites. Significant relationships were found for both summation operator DL-PCBs and summation operator TEQ(DL-PCB) and concentrations of summation operator PCBs and summation operator PCB(7). The levels of summation operator TEQ(DL-PCB) in the livers of both genders and in female gonads, in addition to the total PCBs load in these organs, raise concern and suggest that the species can suffer from PCBs toxic effects.

Persistent organic pollutants in two fish species of Percidae and sediment from the Sulejowski Reservoir in central Poland.

Two predatory fish species, pikeperch and perch, and sediment from the Sulejowski Reservoir in Poland were analyzed for several classes of persistent organic pollutants. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), heptachlor, and DDTs were measured in the fish muscles. In addition, the distribution and profile of PCBs in muscles, livers, and gonads was examined. In sediment, PCBs and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs) and furans (PCDFs) were analyzed. The main contaminant in the muscles of both species was p,p'- DDE reaching an average of 1072 and 694 ng g(-1) lipid in pikeperch and perch, respectively. SigmaPCBs, with an average concentration of 454 and 261 ng g(-1) lipid, respectively, were the second dominant contaminants. The two species differed in their PCB congener profile as a result of differences in feeding habits. Sediment PCDD/F concentrations ranged from 10.8 to 162.7 pg g(-1) dry mass, TEQ(PCDD/Fs) from 1.13 to 4.13 pg g(-1) dry mass, and the sum of indicator PCBs (SigmaPCB(7)) from 2.8 to 5.2 ng g(-1) dry mass. Biota-sediment accumulation factors (BSAFs) for SigmaPCB(7) were generally greater in pikeperch than in perch as a result of greater lipid content in the latter. Based on the contaminant levels in the sediment and fish, the Sulejowski Reservoir compares well with other, freshwater environments relatively uncontaminated with persistent organic pollutants.