Legacy and emergent POPs in the Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus and in its preys from NE Greenland fjords

• Main Authors: Corsolini, S., Pozo, K., Guerranti, C., Christiansen, J. S.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: Arctic; Greenland; East Greenland; Greenland Sea; Somniosus microcephalus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11365/49158; http://www.dioxin20xx.org/pdfs/2014/602.pdf

The Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus (Bloch and Schneider, 1801) is an interesting species from an ecotoxicologiacl point of view, being a long-lived and slow-growing1 deep-sea shark at risk due to its longevity and food habits that may allow it to bioaccumulate toxic and persistent organic pollutants (POPs)1-3. The Greenland sharks are the largest fish in the Arctic sea-waters and due to their large size and biological features, their biology and life history are poorly known3-4. Ecotoxicological data are also very scarce. The Greenland shark stomach content analysis indicate they feed on a wide variety of taxa including invertebrates, fish, and marine mammals1, 4-7. It was already reported as an excellent sentinel species for ecotoxicologial studies in the Arctic2, 5 and a key species of the Arctic food web7. The aims of this study were to determine the concentrations of polychlorobyphenils (PCBs), polybromodiphenylethers (PBDEs), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), polychlorinated dibenzo-dioxins (PCDDs) and -furans (PCDFs), o,p'- and p,p' isomers of DDT, DDD and DDE, alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta- isomers of HCHs, dieldrin, endrin, and HCB in the Greenland sharks and other fish and invertebrates from the pristine North-East Greenland fjords (Greenland Sea). Another aim of this study was to assess whether there is an increase of concentrations from lower to higher trophic levels.