Organohalogen compounds in deep-sea fishes from the western North Pacific, off-Tohoku, Japan: Contamination status and bioaccumulation profiles.
Twelve species of deep-sea fishes collected in 2005 from the western North Pacific, off-Tohoku, Japan were analyzed for organohalogen compounds. Among the compounds analyzed, concentrations of DDTs and PCBs (up to 23,000 and 12,400 ng/g lipid wt, respectively) were the highest. The present study is the foremost to report the occurrence of brominated flame retardants such as PBDEs and HBCDs in deep-sea organisms from the North Pacific region. Significant positive correlations found between delta(15)N ( per thousand) and PCBs, DDTs and PBDEs suggest the high biomagnification potential of these contaminants in food web. The large variation in delta(13)C (per thousand) values observed between the species indicate multiple sources of carbon in the food web and specific accumulation of hydrophobic organohalogen compounds in benthic dwelling carnivore species like snubnosed eel. The results obtained in this study highlight the usefulness of deep-sea fishes as sentinel species to monitor the deep-sea environment.
Takahashi
Shin
S
Center for Marine Environmental Studies, Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho 2-5, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan. shint@agr.ehime-u.ac.jp
Oshihoi
Tomoko
T
Ramu
Karri
K
Isobe
Tomohiko
T
Ohmori
Koji
K
Kubodera
Tsunemi
T
Tanabe
Shinsuke
S
D000818:Animals; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D020387:Food Chain; D006219:Halogens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D007564:Japan; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D013045:Species Specificity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism*
D006219:Halogens; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical