Tissue Distribution, Growth Dilution, and Species‐Specific Bioaccumulation of Organic Ultraviolet Absorbents in Wildlife Freshwater Fish in the Pearl River Catchment, China

Abstract

Tissue distributions and body-size dependent and species-specific bioaccumulation of 12 organic ultraviolet absorbents (UVAs) were investigated in 9 species of wildlife freshwater fish from the Pearl River catchment, South China. The concentrations of the 12 UVAs were from 109 to 2320 ng/g lipid weight in the fish tissue samples. The UVAs 2-hydroxy-4methoxybenzophenone (BP-3), octocrylene (OCR), UV531, and 5 benzotriazole UV stabilizers (UVP, UV329, UV234, UV328, and UV327) were detected in more than half of the fish tissue samples. The UVA UV531 showed an obvious potential for bioaccumulation in the wild freshwater fish, with an estimated bioaccumulation factor (log BAF) and a biota-sediment accumulation factor (BSAF) of 4.54 ± 0.55 and 4.88 ± 6.78, respectively. Generally, liver (989 ± 464 ng/g lipid wt) contained the highest level of UVAs, followed in decreasing order by belly fat (599 ± 318 ng/g lipid wt), swimming bladder (494 ± 282 ng/g lipid wt), dorsal muscle (470 ± 240 ng/g lipid wt), and egg (442 ± 238 ng/g lipid wt). The bioaccumulation of UVAs in the freshwater wild fish was species specific and compound dependent. Bottom-dwelling detritus-ingesting omnivorous fish contained obviously higher UVA concentrations, suggesting that detritus/sediment ingestion is a significant pathway for exposure of the wild freshwater fish to the UVAs. The UVAs UV531 and BP-3 demonstrated a potential for growth dilution. Metabolism might play a significant role in elimination of the UVAs in the fish tissues, with the highest rate of metabolism in the liver. The UVAs did not demonstrate obvious trophic magnification in the freshwater ecosystem of the Pearl River catchment. More research is warranted to elucidate maternal transfer of the UVAs. Environ Toxicol Chem 2020;39:343-351.

Evidence of Microplastic Translocation in Wild-Caught Fish and Implications for Microplastic Accumulation Dynamics in Food Webs

“…Still, these observations suggest the potential for either the excretion of translocated particles, as has been demonstrated with nanoparticles, or growth dilution. Growth dilution of contaminants is a known phenomenon, demonstrated with mercury in salmonid and organic ultraviolet absorbents in Barbell chub and Redbelly tilapia . Laboratory studies that increase our understanding of particle uptake and excretion, including the consideration of species-specific differences, are critical to confirm our results.…”

Distribution and Fate of Ultraviolet Absorbents and Industrial Antioxidants in the St. Lawrence River, Quebec, Canada

“…The accumulation of these contaminants is considered to be diet-specific. 40 , 55 , 63 Some studies have suggested that bottom feeders tend to accumulate more BZT-UVs and Ar-SAs than fishes with other feeding habits. 5 , 54 , 55 In addition, lake sturgeon from this study were older (16–25 years old) than northern pike (2–7 years old), suggesting different exposure histories to contaminants.…”

Effect of copper on bioconcentration of benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers (BUVSs) in common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

“…While the combined proportion in gill and muscle was around 20 percent for most BUVSs. Similarly,Peng et al (2020) observed that the concentration of BUVSs in sh liver is apparently higher than those in other tissues like muscle, bladder and fat. Other compounds, like organophosphate ame retardants (OPFRs), poly brominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and FQs, are also reported previously to be more likely to accumulate in metabolically active sh tissues (liver or kidney) instead of in metabolically inactive tissues (muscle)(Bekele et al, 2021;Chen et al, 2019;Kim et al, 2015).…”