Royal Military College of Canada, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Environ Sci Technol. 2009 Oct 15;43(20):7635-42. doi: 10.1021/es900941w.
Studies have documented the presence of organic contaminants in Arctic marine environments due to local point sources, but little long-term data is known of the recovery process once those contaminants are removed. In this study, natural recovery of a local marine food web from a historic terrestrial source of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) at Saglek Bay is examined. PCBs were measured in marine sediments, shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius), and black guillemots (Cepphus grylle) to assess ecosystem recovery over an eight-year period after cleanup of the source. Surface sediment measurements indicate decreases in both the extent and average concentrations of PCBs throughout Saglek Bay. Sculpin collected near the former contaminated beach in 2006 had significantly lower PCB burdens than those collected in 1998/ 99. PCB levels have also decreased significantly in black guillemot nestlings collected from the former contaminated beach area, as well as Island (6-8 km from the source) and Reference (greater than 18 km from the source) locations. This study demonstrates the utility of using indicator species, especially the black guillemot, to monitor PCB uptake in benthic food webs. The rapid decreases in the physical and biotic PCB concentrations from the local ecosystem at Saglek Bay demonstratethe efficiency with which natural ecosystem recovery can take place in a highly energetic coastal marine environment once a chronic contaminant source is removed.
研究记录了由于当地点源而导致北极海洋环境中存在有机污染物，但对于一旦去除这些污染物后恢复过程的长期数据知之甚少。在这项研究中，检查了萨格莱克湾（Saglek Bay）当地海洋食物网从历史上的多氯联苯（PCBs）陆地污染源中自然恢复的情况。为了评估清理污染源后 8 年内生态系统的恢复情况，对海洋沉积物、短须石首鱼（Myoxocephalus scorpius）和黑叉鼻企鹅（Cepphus grylle）中的 PCB 进行了测量。表层沉积物测量结果表明，整个萨格莱克湾的 PCB 范围和平均浓度均有所降低。2006 年在受污染海滩附近收集的石首鱼体内的 PCB 含量明显低于 1998/99 年收集的 PCB 含量。在受污染海滩地区、岛屿（距污染源 6-8 公里）和参考地点（距污染源大于 18 公里）收集的黑叉鼻企鹅雏鸟体内的 PCB 水平也显著降低。这项研究表明，使用指示物种（尤其是黑叉鼻企鹅）监测底栖食物网中 PCB 摄取情况是有用的。萨格莱克湾当地生态系统中 PCB 的物理和生物浓度迅速下降，表明一旦去除了慢性污染物的来源，高度活跃的沿海海洋环境中的自然生态系统恢复是多么有效。
