A systematic toxicologic study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on aquatic organisms via food-web bioaccumulation

Yongzhan Mai; Yunfan Wang; Tuo Geng; Songyao Peng; Zini Lai; Xuesong Wang; Haiyan Li

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172362

A systematic toxicologic study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on aquatic organisms via food-web bioaccumulation

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Apr 20:929:172362. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172362. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yongzhan Mai¹, Yunfan Wang², Tuo Geng², Songyao Peng³, Zini Lai¹, Xuesong Wang⁴, Haiyan Li⁵

Affiliations

¹ National Agricultural Scientific Observing and Experimental Station for Fisheries Resources and Environment, Guangzhou, Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Fishery Resources and Environment in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Pearl River, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Fishery Ecological Environment Monitoring Center of Pearl River Basin, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Immunology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China.
² Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan 528437, China.
³ Pearl River Water Resources Research Institute, Guangzhou 510611, China.
⁴ Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine Greater Bay Area, Zhongshan 528437, China. Electronic address: wangxs@caiqgba.org.cn.
⁵ National Agricultural Scientific Observing and Experimental Station for Fisheries Resources and Environment, Guangzhou, Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Fishery Resources and Environment in the Middle and Lower Reaches of Pearl River, Key Laboratory of Prevention and Control for Aquatic Invasive Alien Species, Fishery Ecological Environment Monitoring Center of Pearl River Basin, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Immunology and Sustainable Aquaculture, Pearl River Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510380, China. Electronic address: lihaiyan@prfri.ac.cn.

PMID: 38649047
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172362

Abstract

Pollution-induced declines in fishery resources restrict the sustainable development of fishery. As a kind of typical environmental pollutant, the mechanism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) facilitating fishery resources declines needs to be fully illustrated. To determine how PAHs have led to declines in fishery resources, a systematic toxicologic analysis of the effects of PAHs on aquatic organisms via food-web bioaccumulation was performed in the Pearl River and its estuary. Overall, PAH bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms was correlated with the trophic levels along food-web, exhibiting as significant positive correlations were observed between PAHs concentration and the trophic levels of fishes in the Pearl River Estuary. Additionally, waterborne PAHs exerted significant direct effects on dietary organisms (P < 0.05), and diet-borne PAHs subsequently exhibited significant direct effects on fish (P < 0.05). However, an apparent block effect was found in dietary organisms (e.g., zooplankton) where 33.49 % of the total system throughput (TST) was retained at trophic level II, exhibiting as the highest PAHs concentration, bioaccumulation factor (BAF), and biomagnification factor (BMF) of ∑₁₅PAHs in zooplankton were at least eight-fold greater than those in fishes in both the Pearl River and its estuary, thereby waterborne PAHs exerted either direct or indirect effects on fishes that ultimately led to food-web simplification. Regardless of the block effect of dietary organisms, a general toxic effect of PAHs on aquatic organisms was observed, e.g., Phe and BaP exerted lethal effects on phytoplankton Chlorella pyrenoidosa and zooplankton Daphnia magna, and decreased reproduction in fishes Danio rerio and Megalobrama hoffmanni via activating the NOD-like receptors (NLRs) signaling pathway. Consequently, an assembled aggregate exposure pathway for PAHs revealed that increases in waterborne PAHs led to bioaccumulation of PAHs in aquatic organisms along food-web, and this in turn decreased the reproductive ability of fishes, thus causing decline in fishery resources.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Food web; Pearl River; Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); Toxic effect.