Bioconcentration of polycyclic heteroaromatic hydrocarbons in the guppy ( Poecilia reticula)

Abstract

Bioconcentration factors (BCFs) of 19 parent and hetero polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were obtained from static bioconcentration experiments with Poecilia reticulata by monitoring the decrease in the initial aqueous concentration. The BCFs were obtained by fitting the observed concentrations to a one-compartment first-order kinetic model. The BCFs thus obtained showed a satisfactory linear relationship with the experimental n-octanol/water partition coefficient, log K ow ( r = 0.91, s = 0.30). By comparison with a limited number of semi-static tests, it was concluded that the static bioconcentration experiment is a satisfactory alternative for more laborious bioconcentration tests to obtain BCFs of (hetero) PAH. However, the static tests are less valuable for the acquisition of kinetic bioconcentration parameters such as, e.g., uptake or elimination rate constants. For several of the compounds in this study, the estimates resulting from the static tests did not match with those from a limited number of depuration experiments carried out in this study or with values expected from the relationship between the depuration rate constant and the log K ow, reported in the literature. The distribution of three parent PAH within the fish after a 7-day semi-static exposure was also investigated. Relatively high concentrations were found in liver and kidneys. The major part of the body burden was found in muscle and the gastro-intestinal tract.