How do trophic magnification factors (TMFs) and biomagnification factors (BMFs) perform on toxic pollutant bioaccumulation estimation in coastal and marine food webs

Abstract

In this study, we summarized current research on bioaccumulation of toxic pollutants by using trophic magnification factor (TMF) and biomagnification factor (BMF) in coastal and marine food webs in order to evaluate the potential biomagnification risks of each pollutant. The result of sixty relevant studies showed that polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury (Hg) were the focus of biomagnification of pollutants among the 184 recorded pollutants. Biomagnification effects of the same pollutant calculated by using TMF and BMF were similar. According to the values of TMF and BMF among all pollutants, the results indicated that there were 67 with low (1 < TMF ≤ 4), 43 with greater (4 < TMF ≤ 10), and 14 with the greatest risk (TMF > 10) while 71 organic pollutants without biomagnification risk (TMF ≤ 1). Only 2 trace metals (Hg and Zn) were identified as having biomagnification effects. Cs and Se were trace metals with biomagnification that might have been overlooked. The effectiveness of biomagnification of the same pollutant was related to pollutant morphology, food webs, predator–prey relationships, the individual organism, the selection of wet weight and lipid weight and pollutant morphology. Thus, pollutant morphology, the accurate use of key parameters of trophic level, the strict screening of individual animals and the reasonable selection of wet weight and lipid weight are crucial. In conclusion, our study revealed the biomagnification effect of various pollutants and provided proper assessment indices and key parameters for future studies.