Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California Environmental Protection Agency, Sacramento, CA, 95812-4010, USA.
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, M5S 3B2, Canada.
Environ Pollut. 2019 May;248:1000-1009. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.03.002. Epub 2019 Mar 6.
Marine plastic debris, including microplastics (<5 mm in size), comprises a suite of chemical ingredients and sorbed chemical contaminants. Thus, microplastics are a potential, and debated, source of anthropogenic chemicals for bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Several studies have investigated the role of microplastics as a vector of contaminants to marine organisms via modeling exercises, laboratory experiments, and field studies. Here, we examined relationships among chemical contaminants and microplastics in lanternfish (family Myctophidae), an important link in marine food webs, from the North Pacific Ocean as a case study from the field. We compared the body burden of several chemical groups (bisphenol A [BPA], nonylphenol [4-NP], octylphenol [4n-OP], alkylphenol ethoxylates [APEs], pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls [PCBs], and polybrominated diphenyl ethers [PBDEs]) in fish caught within and outside the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre where plastic is known to accumulate. We also tested whether there was a relationship between chemical concentrations in fish and plastic density at each sampling location. Mean concentrations of common plastic constituents (BPA, 4-NP, 4n-OP, APEs, and total PBDEs) were comparable between myctophids collected within and outside the North Pacific Gyre. Pesticides were higher in lanternfish caught outside the gyre and were associated with lower plastic density. Total PCBs were also higher in fish outside the gyre. In contrast, lower chlorinated PCB congeners were higher in fish residing in the accumulation zone and were correlated with higher plastic density. This finding is consistent with other studies demonstrating an association between lower chlorinated PCBs and plastics in biota and suggests that microplastic may be a transport mechanism for some chemicals in nature.
海洋塑料碎片,包括微塑料(<5 毫米大小),由一系列化学成分和吸附的化学污染物组成。因此,微塑料是人为化学物质生物积累和生物放大的潜在且有争议的来源。一些研究通过建模练习、实验室实验和现场研究调查了微塑料作为海洋生物污染物载体的作用。在这里,我们以北太平洋的灯笼鱼(灯笼鱼科)为例,从现场研究中检验了海洋食物链中重要环节的化学污染物与微塑料之间的关系。我们比较了在北太平洋亚热带环流内外捕获的鱼类体内几种化学物质(双酚 A[BPA]、壬基酚[4-NP]、辛基酚[4n-OP]、烷基酚聚氧乙烯醚[APEs]、农药、多氯联苯[PCBs]和多溴联苯醚[PBDEs])的体内负荷。我们还测试了每个采样点鱼类体内化学浓度与塑料密度之间是否存在关系。在北太平洋环流内外捕获的灯笼鱼体内常见塑料成分(BPA、4-NP、4n-OP、APEs 和总 PBDEs)的浓度均值相当。在环流之外捕获的灯笼鱼体内农药浓度更高,并且与塑料密度较低相关。在环流之外捕获的灯笼鱼体内总 PCBs 也更高。相比之下,在积累区生活的鱼类体内低氯代 PCB 同系物浓度更高,并且与塑料密度较高相关。这一发现与其他研究一致,这些研究表明,在生物群中,低氯代 PCB 与塑料之间存在关联,并且表明微塑料可能是自然界中某些化学物质的传输机制。