Abstract
The concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (PAHm) and their bioconcentration factors (BCF) were determined in the larval stages of the cestode Oncomegas wageneri, recovered from the intestine of the Mexican flounder Cyclopsetta chittendeni, in the southern Gulf of Mexico. The PAHm concentrations in O. wageneri were measured using fixed-wavelength fluorescence spectrometry and compared with PAHm concentrations in host bile. Oncomegas wageneri PAHm concentrations were markedly higher than those in host tissues. The highest BCF values were obtained for 1-hydroxypyrene (OHP) and benzo(a)pyrene (BaP). Using a General Linear Model, a significant negative relationship was found between O. wageneri PAHm concentrations (as response variable) and the number of O. wageneri and oil well proximity. Low BCF values and PAHm concentrations in C. chittendeni correlated positively with O. wageneri PAHm concentrations. In contrast, high BCF values for PAHm concentrations in C. chittendeni had a negative association with O. wageneri PAHm concentrations. This study provides the first evidence of the presence of PAHm in intestinal larval cestodes of marine flatfishes, demonstrating levels of PAHm that were higher than levels in their hosts.
Highlights
Marine fish can acquire polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from exposure to oil extraction sediments or oil spills (Pérez-del-Olmo et al 2007; Pérez-del-Olmo et al 2009; Centeno-Chalé et al 2015)
427.95 47.23 0.99 0.98 nm, nanometers; LOD, limit of detection; LOQ, limit of quantification; A, intercept value; β, slope; R2, coefficient of determination between O. wageneri and fish bile were confirmed for total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (PAHm) concentrations (H = 81.8; P < 0.05) and for each PAHm concentration, showing significantly higher values in parasites in all cases (BaP H = 7.1, P < 0.05; obtained for 1hydroxypyrene (OHP) H = 8.246, P < 0.05; Phe H = 5.17, P < 0.05; and Naph H = 7.1, P < 0.05) (Fig. 2)
Comparison between each PAHm concentration in O. wageneri and fish bile separately showed that naphthol concentration values were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in both parasites and hosts compared with all other PAHm measured
Summary
Marine fish can acquire polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from exposure to oil extraction sediments or oil spills (Pérez-del-Olmo et al 2007; Pérez-del-Olmo et al 2009; Centeno-Chalé et al 2015). In the southern Gulf of Mexico, coastal and offshore petroleum extraction is a significant economic activity (García-Cuellar et al 2004; Vidal-Martínez et al 2019) that, together with natural hydrocarbon release from oil seeps, exposes marine organisms to hydrocarbons. Processed hydrocarbons, such as motor oils, diesel, and lubricants, together with other contaminants, such as heavy metals, pesticides, and fertilizers (e.g., N and P in different compounds), are transported from the continent and released in marine waters (Morrison and Boyd 1998). Research on the accumulation of organic compounds in host– parasite systems is scant (e.g., Heinonen et al 1999, 2000; Persson et al 2007; Brázová et al 2012a; Oluoch-Otiego et al 2016), especially about hydrocarbons, compared with studies on parasite–metal interactions (Tenora et al 2000; Parasitol Res (2020) 119:903–913
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