Abstract

Emergent aquatic insects are important food subsidies to riparian food webs but can also transfer waterborne contaminants to the terrestrial environment. This study aimed to quantitatively assess this biodriven transfer for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Aquatic insect larvae, emergent aquatic insects, terrestrial consumers, sediment, and water were collected from a contaminated lake and stream and an uncontaminated pond, and analyzed for PFAS and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. Top predators in this study were spiders, which showed the highest average ∑24PFAS concentration of 1400 ± 80 ng g–1 dry weight (dw) at the lake and 630 ng g–1 dw at the stream. The transfer of PFAS from the lake to the riparian zone, via deposition of emergent aquatic insects, was 280 ng ∑24PFAS m–2 d–1 in 2017 and only 23 ng ∑24PFAS m–2 d–1 in 2018. Because of higher production of emergent aquatic insects, the lake had higher PFAS transfer and higher concentrations in terrestrial consumers compared to the stream, despite the stream having higher PFAS concentration in water and aquatic insect larvae. Our results indicate that biodriven transfer of PFAS from the aquatic systems and subsequent uptake in terrestrial food webs depend more on emergence amounts, i.e., aquatic prey availability, rather than on PFAS concentrations in water and aquatic prey.

Highlights

  • Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are contaminants of emerging concern and are widely used in the industry and in consumer products because of their unique physicochemical properties

  • Our results indicate that biodriven transfer of PFAS from the aquatic systems and subsequent uptake in terrestrial food webs depend more on emergence amounts, i.e., aquatic prey availability, rather than on PFAS concentrations in water and aquatic prey

  • PFAS can be very resistant to degradation, can cause a range of adverse health effects, and can be highly bioaccumulative depending on their fluorocarbon chain length and functional group.[1]

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Summary

Introduction

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are contaminants of emerging concern and are widely used in the industry and in consumer products because of their unique physicochemical properties (e.g., as surfactants). This section discusses PFAS concentration in surface water, sediment, aquatic insects, emergent aquatic insects, and terrestrial consumers, as well as stable isotope ratio of carbon and nitrogen from all three sampling sites (the stream, the lake, and the reference pond).

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