Legacy and emergent POPs in the marine fauna of NE Greenland with special emphasis on the Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus

• Published in: Rendiconti Lincei
• Main Authors: CORSOLINI, SIMONETTA, POZO, KARLA ANDREA, Christiansen, Jørgen S.
• Other Authors: Corsolini, Simonetta, Pozo, KARLA ANDREA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: BMF; Greenland sea; Greenland shark; PBDE; PCB; PFOS/PFOA; 2300; Agricultural and Biological Sciences (all); Earth and Planetary Sciences (all); Greenland; Boreogadus saida; Greenland Sea; Somniosus microcephalus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11365/1008143; https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-016-0541-7; http://www.springerlink.com/content/120941/

Persistent organic pollutants include several groups of chemicals with similar structures and physical–chemical properties that elicit comparable toxic effects. They have been used extensively worldwide in agriculture, industrial, and health applications. Their degradation is very slow in the polar regions due to the low temperatures and winter darkness. The aims of this study were to determine the concentrations of polychlorobyphenils (PCBs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the Greenland sharks (Somniosus microcephalus) and other marine fishes and invertebrates from NE Greenland. The concentration increases were assessed by calculating the biomagnification factor (BMF) among pairs of alleged predator-prey organisms. PFOS were Careproctusreinhardti (5.02ng/gwetwt)>stomach content of Amblyraja hyperborea (1.4454ng/gwetwt)>Boreogadus saida (0.355ng/gwetwt). The higher contaminant biomagnification was found in the predator→prey pairs: shark→invertebrates (BMF_Σ6PCBs=75-88672, BMF_Σ3PBDEs=14-124), shark→A. hyperborea→preys, according to their diets. Ecotoxicological baseline data on marine wildlife in NE Greenland are particularly important due to the risk of prospect petroleum activities.