First evidence of legacy chlorinated POPs bioaccumulation in Antarctic sponges from the Ross sea and the South Shetland Islands

Nicolas Pala; Begoña Jiménez; Jose L Roscales; Marco Bertolino; Davide Baroni; Blanca Figuerola; Conxita Avila; Simonetta Corsolini

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121661

First evidence of legacy chlorinated POPs bioaccumulation in Antarctic sponges from the Ross sea and the South Shetland Islands

Environ Pollut. 2023 Jul 15:329:121661. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121661. Epub 2023 Apr 19.

Authors

Nicolas Pala¹, Begoña Jiménez², Jose L Roscales², Marco Bertolino³, Davide Baroni¹, Blanca Figuerola⁴, Conxita Avila⁵, Simonetta Corsolini⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via Mattioli, 4, 53100, Siena, Italy.
² Department of Instrumental Analysis and Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Organic Chemistry, IQOG-CSIC, Juan de la Cierva 3, 28006, Madrid, Spain.
³ Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genova, Corso Europa 26, 16132, Genova, Italy.
⁴ Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Pg. Marítim de la Barceloneta 37-49, 08003, Barcelona, Spain.
⁵ Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology, and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona & Biodiversity Research Institute (IRBio), Av. Diagonal 643, 08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
⁶ Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Via Mattioli, 4, 53100, Siena, Italy. Electronic address: simonetta.corsolini@unisi.it.

PMID: 37085102
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121661

Abstract

Antarctica is no longer pristine due to the confirmed presence of anthropogenic contaminants like Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). Benthic organisms are poorly represented in contamination studies in Antarctica although they are known to bioaccumulate contaminants. Sponges (Phylum Porifera) are dominant members in Antarctic benthos, both in terms of abundance and biomass, and are an important feeding source for other organisms, playing key functional roles in benthic communities. To the best of our knowledge, legacy chlorinated POPs such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hexachlorobenzene (HCB), and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and their metabolites have never been investigated in this Phylum in Antarctica. The aim of this work was to evaluate the bioaccumulation of PCBs, HCB, o,p'- and p,p'-DDT and their DDE and DDD isomers in 35 sponge samples, belonging to 17 different species, collected along the coast of Terra Nova Bay (Adèlie Cove and Tethys Bay, Ross Sea), and at Whalers Bay (Deception Island, South Shetland Islands) in Antarctica. Lipid content showed a significant correlation with the three pollutant classes. The overall observed pattern in the three study sites was ΣPCBs>ΣDDTs>HCB and it was found in almost every species. The ΣPCBs, ΣDDTs, and HCB ranged from 54.2 to 133.7 ng/g lipid weight (lw), from 17.5 to 38.6 ng/g lw and from 4.8 to 8.5 ng/g lw, respectively. Sponges showed contamination levels comparable to other Antarctic benthic organisms from previous studies. The comparison among sponges of the same species from different sites showed diverse patterns for PCBs only in one out of four cases. The concentration of POPs did not vary significantly among the three sites. The predominance of lower chlorinated organochlorines in the samples suggested that long-range atmospheric transportation (LRAT) could be the major driver of contamination as molecules with a high long range transport potential (e.g. low chlorinated PCBs, HCB) prevails on heavier ones.

Keywords: Benthic organisms; Bioaccumulation; Chlorinated pesticides; PCBs; Porifera; Southern Ocean.

MeSH terms

Antarctic Regions
Bioaccumulation
DDT / metabolism
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Pollutants* / analysis
Hexachlorobenzene
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated* / analysis
Lipids
Polychlorinated Biphenyls* / analysis

Substances

Environmental Pollutants
Polychlorinated Biphenyls
DDT
Hexachlorobenzene
Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated
Lipids