Institute of Biodiversity Research (IRBio), Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Water, Environmental and Food Chemistry, Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jun 15;721:137768. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137768. Epub 2020 Mar 5.
Pollution of the marine environment by litter composed of plastics is a growing concern. Chemical additives such as organophosphate flame retardants (OPFRs), which are added to plastics to improve their qualities, are in focus because they allegedly cause adverse effects on marine fauna. Here we analyse OPFR levels in the muscle of fin whales because, as a mysticete, this cetacean obtains its food by filter-feeding and is thus highly vulnerable to marine litter. Moreover, the fin whale performs long-range migrations from low-latitude areas in winter to high-latitude areas in summer, a trait that makes it a potentially good large-scale biomonitor of pollution. We also analyse OPFR levels in its main prey, the krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica, to assess transfer through diet. The samples analysed consisted of muscle tissue from 20 fin whales and whole-body homogenates of 10 krill samples, all collected off West Iceland. From the 19 OPFRs analysed, we detected 7 in the fin whale and 5 in the krill samples. Tri-n-butyl phosphate (TNBP), Isopropylated triphenyl phosphate (IPPP) and Triphenylphosphine oxide (TPPO) were the most abundant compounds found in both species. Mean ∑OPFR concentration, expressed on a lipid weight basis, was 985 (SD = 2239) ng g in fin whale muscle, and 949 (SD = 1090) ng g in krill homogenates. These results constitute the first evidence of the presence of OPFRs in the tissues of fin whales. Furthermore, they seem to support the non-significance of bioaccumulation of OPFRs through lifespan and of biomagnification trough the food web.
塑料垃圾对海洋环境的污染是一个日益严重的问题。化学添加剂，如有机磷阻燃剂（OPFRs），被添加到塑料中以提高其质量，成为关注的焦点，因为它们据称对海洋动物群产生不利影响。在这里，我们分析了长须鲸肌肉中的 OPFR 水平，因为作为须鲸，这种鲸类通过滤食获得食物，因此极易受到海洋垃圾的影响。此外，长须鲸从冬季的低纬度地区进行长距离迁徙到夏季的高纬度地区，这种迁徙特性使它成为一种潜在的很好的大规模污染生物监测器。我们还分析了其主要猎物磷虾（Meganyctiphanes norvegica）中的 OPFR 水平，以评估通过饮食的转移。分析的样本包括 20 头长须鲸的肌肉组织和 10 个磷虾样本的全身匀浆，均采集于冰岛西部。在所分析的 19 种 OPFR 中，我们在长须鲸和磷虾样本中均检测到 7 种和 5 种。三丁基磷酸酯（TNBP）、异丙基化三苯基磷酸酯（IPPP）和三苯基氧化膦（TPPO）是这两种物种中最丰富的化合物。长须鲸肌肉中∑OPFR 的平均浓度（按脂肪重量表示）为 985（SD=2239）ng/g，磷虾匀浆中为 949（SD=1090）ng/g。这些结果构成了 OPFRs 存在于长须鲸组织中的第一个证据。此外，它们似乎支持 OPFRs 一生中不会生物积累，也不会通过食物网发生生物放大。
