Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in fish with different feeding habits inhabiting a shallow lake ecosystem

SILVA BARNI, FLORENCIA; ONDARZA PAOLA MARIANA; GONZALEZ MARIANA; DA CUÑA, R; MEIJIDE F; GROSMAN, F; SANZANO P; LO NOSTRO, FABIANA; MIGLIORANZA KARINA SILVIA BEATRIZ

SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016 vol. 550 p. 900 - 909

0048-9697

The occurrence of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the environment can affect organisms inhabitingaquatic systems, in particular shallow lakes that are vulnerable to environmental stressors. This studyaimed to assess POPs accumulation and changes at histological and physiological levels in tissues of threefish species with different trophic habits. Gills, brain, muscle, liver and gonads of Odontesthes bonariensis,Oligosarcus jenynsii and Cyphocharax voga were collected from the shallow lake La Peregrina, located inan agricultural area from Argentina. In addition, contaminant levels in surface water (SW), suspended par-ticulate matter (SPM) and bottom sediments (BS) were assessed. Histological lesions were evaluated in fishtissues and levels of vitellogenin (VTG) were assessed in plasma of male fish in order to correlate these al-terations with the presence of POPs in the environment. Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), polychlorinatedbiphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were determined by GC-ECD. Biotic and abi-otic samples showed the same POPs distribution pattern: OCPs N PCBs N PBDEs. Although tissue distributionof OCPs was species-specific, muscle showed the lowest levels in all species. The most abundant contami-nants were endosulfans, suggesting their widespread use in the area. O. bonariensis showed the highest endosulfans levels in liver (184.2?219 ng g−1wet w), which was associated with the high SPM levels con-sidering this species is a filter feeder. The occurrence of PCBs and PBDEs shows the ubiquity of these pollut-ants in the area. Histological lesions in gills and liver of O. bonariensis and O. jenynsii, might be related withthe high levels of endosulfans in these organs. The detection of VTG in males warns about a possible exposure toestrogenic compounds in the environment. In conclusion, the simultaneous exposure of fish to multiple environ-mental pollutants leads to different alterations, so measures should be taken in order to prevent their occurrenceand toxic effects.