Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations in wharf roach (Ligia spp.), as an environmental indicator, and in environmental components of the intertidal and supralittoral zones were determined, and the PAH exposure pathways in wharf roach were estimated. Wharf roaches, mussels, and environmental media (water, soil and sand, and drifting seaweed) were collected from 12 sites in Japan along coastal areas of the Sea of Japan. PAH concentrations in wharf roaches were higher than those in mussels (median total of 15 PAHs: 48.5 and 39.9 ng/g-dry weight (dw), respectively) except for samples from Ishikawa (wharf roach: 47.9 ng/g-dw; mussel: 132 ng/g-dw). The highest total PAH concentration in wharf roach was from Akita (96.0 ng/g-dw), followed by a sample from Niigata (85.2 ng/g-dw). Diagnostic ratio analysis showed that nearly all PAHs in soil and sand were of petrogenic origin. Based on a correlation analysis of PAH concentrations between wharf roach and the environmental components, wharf roach exposure to three- and four-ring PAHs was likely from food (drifting seaweed) and from soil and sand, whereas exposure to four- and five-ring PAHs was from several environmental components. These findings suggest that the wharf roach can be used to monitor PAH pollution in the supralittoral zone and in the intertidal zone.
Highlights
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are composed of two or more fused aromatic rings without modification and include more than 100 chemical species
Wharf roaches (Ligia spp.) were collected in September 2018 from 12 sampling sites in Japan located along coastal areas of the Sea of Japan (Figure 1, Table 1)
The detected ΣPAH concentrations were similar to previously reported concentrations, except for samples that were previously collected in highly polluted areas [46]
Summary
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are composed of two or more fused aromatic rings without modification and include more than 100 chemical species. PAHs found in the environment are either of petrogenic origin, such as from natural oil seeps and accidental oil spills [1,2,3], or are of pyrogenic origin, which includes volcanic activity [4], the combustion of fossil fuels [5] and organic matter [6], and automobile exhaust [7]. Field data of PAH pollution in marine invertebrates are limited [24], except in bivalves [2,3,25,26]. Field surveys of PAH contamination in invertebrates in the supralittoral zone are sparse [27]
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