Spatial and temporal variability of contaminants within estuarine sediments and native Olympia oysters: A contrast between a developed and an undeveloped estuary

Abstract

Chemical contaminants can be introduced into estuarine and marine ecosystems from a variety of sources including wastewater, agriculture and forestry practices, point and non-point discharges, runoff from industrial, municipal, and urban lands, accidental spills, and atmospheric deposition. The diversity of potential sources contributes to the likelihood of contaminated marine waters and sediments and increases the probability of uptake by marine organisms. Despite widespread recognition of direct and indirect pathways for contaminant deposition and organismal exposure in coastal systems, spatial and temporal variability in contaminant composition, deposition, and uptake patterns are still poorly known. We investigated these patterns for a suite of persistent legacy contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and chemicals of emerging concern including pharmaceuticals within two Oregon coastal estuaries (Coos and Netarts Bays). In the more urbanized Coos Bay, native Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) tissue had approximately twice the number of PCB congeners at over seven times the total concentration, yet fewer PBDEs at one-tenth the concentration as compared to the more rural Netarts Bay. Different pharmaceutical suites were detected during each sampling season. Variability in contaminant types and concentrations across seasons and between species and media (organisms versus sediment) indicates the limitation of using indicator species and/or sampling annually to determine contaminant loads at a site or for specific species. The results indicate the prevalence of legacy contaminants and CECs in relatively undeveloped coastal environments highlighting the need to improve policy and management actions to reduce contaminant releases into estuarine and marine waters and to deal with legacy compounds that remain long after prohibition of use. Our results point to the need for better understanding of the ecological and human health risks of exposure to the diverse cocktail of pollutants and harmful compounds that will continue to leach from estuarine sediments over time.

Metabolomic Investigations of the Temporal Effects of Exposure to Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products and Their Mixture in the Eastern Oyster (Crassostrea virginica)

“…This finding is supported by Hazelton et al () and Peters and Granek (), who demonstrated that both freshwater mussels ( Lampsilis fasciola ) and marine mussels ( Mytilus californianus ), respectively, exposed to fluoxetine had decreased energy storage and impaired algal clearance rates. In addition, Granek et al () found that long‐term exposure (107 d) to 0.3 µg/L fluoxetine caused a marked decrease in M. californianus biomass, postulated to be attributable to the observed impaired clearance rates.…”

“…Although the exposure concentrations of PPCPs for estuarine organisms are unlikely to result in direct mortality, these exposures could result in sublethal toxicity (Gaw et al ). This is particularly relevant for eastern oysters ( Crassostrea virginica , Gmelin 1791), which are sessile, filter‐feeding bivalves that are exposed to PPCPs throughout their lifetime (Granek et al ). This species also forms the basis of the oyster industry along the eastern coast of the United States (Tikunov et al ), and as such, there is an urgent need to understand better how exposure to PPCPs affects their biochemistry.…”

A Simple and Rapid Ultra–High‐Performance Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for the Quantitation of Pharmaceuticals and Related Compounds in Mussels and Oysters

“…Pharmaceuticals in shellfish-Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 2021;40:3263-3274 environmental samples. Chemical burden in bivalves has been shown to vary considerably between sites and season (Granek et al 2016;Silva et al 2017), meaning that further studies are required to assess the burden of these compounds in the environment.…”

Seasonal variability in metal and metalloid burdens of mussels: using data from the German Environmental Specimen Bank to evaluate implications for long-term mussel monitoring programs

“…In contrast, Webster et al [50] found no correlations between lipid contents of blue mussels and concentrations of PBDE, PAH and PCB. In the case of compounds like, e.g., pharmaceuticals, personal care products [24] or TBT, the observed seasonality in mussel contamination was obviously related to seasonal differences in emissions. Devier et al [14] found high levels of TBT in mussels at harbor sites in summer when boat activities were highest.…”

“…Levels of lipophilic substances, in contrast, may be highest when lipid-rich gametes are formed (e.g., [22,23]: for blue mussels from the North and Baltic Seas this would be in spring and early summer). Contamination with other compounds like pharmaceuticals, personal care products [24] or tributyltin (TBT) [14,25,26] seems to be triggered by seasondependent emissions, e.g., winter outbreaks of influenza in the case of pharmaceuticals or dry-dock works in winter in the case of TBT [27].…”