Organochlorine pollution in tropical rivers (Guadeloupe): Role of ecological factors in food web bioaccumulation

Abstract

This paper determines the bioaccumulation and transfer processes of organochlorine pesticides within the stream food web in Guadeloupe (Caribbean). ABSTRACTConcentrations of organochlorine pesticides and stable isotope ratios of nitrogen and carbon were measured in a tropical freshwater ecosystem to evaluate the contamination level of biota and examine the bioaccumulation patterns of pollutants through the food web. Chemical analyses showed a general and heavy contamination of the entire food web. They revealed the strong accumulation of pollutants by juveniles of diadromous fishes and shrimps, as they re-enter the river. The role of ecological factors in the bioaccumulation of pesticides was evaluated. Whereas the most persistent pollutants (chlordecone and monohydro-chlordecone) were related to the organisms diet and habitat, bioaccumulation of β-HCH was only influenced by animal lipid content. The biomagnification potential of chlordecone through the food chain has been demonstrated. It highlighted the importance of trophic transfer in this compound bioaccumulation process. In contrast, bioconcentration by passive diffusion from water seemed to be the main exposure route of biota to β-HCH.

Effects of chlordecone on 20-hydroxyecdysone concentration and chitobiase activity in a decapod crustacean, Macrobrachium rosenbergii

“…This result is in agreement with previous studies highlighting the CLD concentration in different organisms. Indeed, Van Veld et al (1984) demonstrated that CLD could be accumulated in the channel catfish when exposed for 30 days, and Coat et al (2011) observed the CLD bioaccumulation in tropical food web including various species of mussels, shrimps and fishes. The CLD concentrations measured in muscle tissue of M. rosenbergii were somewhat lower than those measured in other decapods exposed to similar CLD concentrations Gaume et al, 2014).…”

“…Although, Fernández-Bayo et al (2013) showed the existence of CLD degrading organisms in a tropical soil (andosol) microcosm under aerobic conditions, CLD undergoes no significant or quick biotic or abiotic degradation (Dolfing et al, 2012;Levillain et al, 2012). Driven by the water cycle, CLD in soils is progressively transferred to aquatic ecosystems (Coat et al, 2011) and also in the food web because of its high K oc (Soil Organic Carbon Water Partitioning Coefficient) (15849 L/Kg), K ow (Octanol-Water Partition Coefficient) (4.5-6.0) and its affinity for lipids (Cabidoche and Lesueur-Jannoyer, 2012;Clostre et al, 2013;Sterrett and Boss, 1977;UNEP, 2005;US-EPA, 2008). Human contamination has also been detected in FWI population mainly resulting from consumption of contaminated food, seafood and root vegetables (Dubuisson et al, 2007;Gaume et al, 2014;Guldner et al, 2010).…”

“…Because of their physicochemical properties, organochlorine pesticides are persistent in the environment and are known to be accumulated along food chains, resulting in pronounced ecotoxicological damage (Cailleaud et al, 2009;Matsumura, 1975). The most worrying organochlorine pesticide residue in Guadeloupe (FWI) is chlordecone (CLD) (Coat et al, 2011). CLD is an insecticide that was commonly employed to control the banana weevil Cosmopolites sordidus from 1972 to 1993 under the trade name Kepone ® or Curlone ® (Cabidoche et al, 2006(Cabidoche et al, , 2009.…”

Natural transformation of chlordecone into 5b-hydrochlordecone in French West Indies soils: statistical evidence for investigating long-term persistence of organic pollutants

“…The current tacit assumption is that the presence of this compound is not the result of a biotic or abiotic dechlorination of CLD in these matrices but rather the consequence of its presence as an impurity, a by-product of its preparation, in the CLD released in the environment (Borsetti and Roach 1978;Cabidoche et al 2009;Coat et al 2011;Martin-Laurent et al 2014). Until now, however, this assumption could not be verified since no detailed chemical analyses of the CLD commercial formulations (and so of their 5b-hydroCLD content) seem to exist in the literature.…”

“…5b-Hydrochlordecone 4 (5b-hydroCLD), whose structure is identical to CLD except that one chlorine atom is replaced by a hydrogen at position 5b (Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) numbering) and which is commercially available as an analytical standard, has been searched for and often detected in environmental matrices (soil, surface water and groundwater, sediments, plants, avian tissues and eggs, crustaceans, molluscs and fishes) from the geographical areas where CLD was applied (FWI) or unintentionally released during its manufacture (USA) (Borsetti and Roach 1978;Harless et al 1978;Stafford et al 1978;Carver and Griffith 1979;Orndorff and Colwell 1980;Coat et al 2011;Martin-Laurent et al 2014;Clostre et al 2014a, b). The current tacit assumption is that the presence of this compound is not the result of a biotic or abiotic dechlorination of CLD in these matrices but rather the consequence of its presence as an impurity, a by-product of its preparation, in the CLD released in the environment (Borsetti and Roach 1978;Cabidoche et al 2009;Coat et al 2011;Martin-Laurent et al 2014).…”