IMPLICATIONS OF BIOLOGICAL FACTORS ON ACCUMULATION OF PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN ANTARCTIC NOTOTHENIOID FISH

RÍOS J.M.; LANA N.B; CIOCCO N.F.; COVACI A.; BARRERA ORO E. R.; MOREIRA E.; ALTAMIRANO J.C.

ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE

Año: 2017 vol. 145 p. 630 - 639

0147-6513

In the present study, the possible associations between selected persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and biological factors were assessed in different tissues of two Antarctic notothenioid fish: Notothenia rossii (NOR) and Trematomus newnesi (TRN). Specifically, association patterns between biological factors (body size, lipid content, body condition and POP levels were explored by using two approaches: multivariate analyses (principal component analysis: PCA) and intraspecific correlations. The results suggest that fish size and body condition are related to concentration levels of POPs and must be considered when choosing these two fish species as sentinels for Antarctic marine pollution. Further, both nototheniids showed a selective accumulation of penta-chlorinated biphenyls (penta-CBs) and organochlorine pesticides in gonads; and of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in gills, highlighting the importance of these tissues in monitoring studies of pollution in fish. The current study expands the knowledge concerning the biological factors to be investigated when specific pollutants are monitored; and supports the importance of tissue type for the selective accumulation of POPs in Antarctic fish. Additionally, a contribution to the scarce data on concentration levels of methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) in Antarctic marine organisms, particularly in the highly diverse perciform suborder Notothenioidei is provided.