Centre for Marine Environmental Research and Innovative Technology, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Environ Sci Technol. 2010 Sep 15;44(18):7130-7. doi: 10.1021/es1012615.
Polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) are found ubiquitously in marine environments worldwide. Sediment is the major sink of PBDEs, with the congener BDE 47 being most abundant. In this study, laboratory experiments were carried out to test the hypothesis that contamination of BDE 47 at environmentally realistic sediment concentrations can alter polychaete larval settlement. Using multiple-choice experiment, settlement of three polychaete species (Pseudopolydora vexillosa, Polydora cornuta, and Capitella sp. I) on four types of spiked sediment was studied and compared: (i) low BDE 47 concentration (0.5 ng g(-1) dry weight); (ii) high BDE 47 concentration (3.0 ng g(-1) dry weight), (iii) hexane (solvent control), and (iv) natural sediment (control). Our results showed that settlement of P. vexillosa and Capitella sp. I larvae was significantly promoted, while settlement of P. cornuta reduced, at high BDE 47 concentration in sediment compared with the respective controls under both short- (24 h) and long-term (4 week) exposures. After 4 weeks, body burden of BDE 47 in all polychaete species was directly related to the spike concentration, and body length of settled juveniles of P. vexillosa and Capitella sp. I at the high-concentration treatment was significantly longer compared with that of other treatments and controls. For the first time, we demonstrated that environmentally realistic concentrations of BDE 47 in sediment can affect polychaete settlement in species-specific and dose-dependent manners. Given the global contamination of PBDE in marine sediment, BDE 47 may potentially alter the settlement pattern of marine polychaetes and hence their benthic composition over large areas.
多溴二苯醚（PBDEs）在全球海洋环境中广泛存在。沉积物是 PBDEs 的主要归宿，其中 BDE-47 最为丰富。本研究通过实验室实验，验证了在环境现实浓度的沉积物中，BDE-47 的污染是否会改变多毛类幼虫的附着这一假设。通过多项选择实验，研究了三种多毛类物种（Pseudopolydora vexillosa、Polydora cornuta 和 Capitella sp. I）在四种添加污染物的沉积物上的附着情况，并与低 BDE-47 浓度（0.5ng g(-1) 干重）、高 BDE-47 浓度（3.0ng g(-1) 干重）、正己烷（溶剂对照）和天然沉积物（对照）进行了比较。结果表明，与各自的对照相比，在高 BDE-47 浓度的沉积物中，P. vexillosa 和 Capitella sp. I 幼虫的附着明显增加，而 P. cornuta 幼虫的附着则减少。在短期（24 小时）和长期（4 周）暴露后，所有多毛类物种体内的 BDE-47 含量与添加浓度直接相关，且在高浓度处理下，P. vexillosa 和 Capitella sp. I 幼虫的附着体长明显长于其他处理和对照。这是首次证明，环境现实浓度的 BDE-47 可在特定物种和剂量依赖性的方式下影响多毛类幼虫的附着。鉴于 PBDE 在海洋沉积物中的全球性污染，BDE-47 可能会改变海洋多毛类的附着模式，并因此改变它们在大面积范围内的底栖组成。
