The difference of trophic magnification factors of Quinolones antibiotics (QNs) between pelagic and benthic foodwebs in a shallow lake: importance of carbon and nitrogen sources

Abstract

Feeding habitat and carbon source play critical roles in certain the trophic transfer and bioaccumulation ability of chemicals in aquatic ecosystems. However, it remains largely unknown how these factors affect the trophic magnification factors (TMFs) of antibiotics in lake ecosystem. This study compared the differences of TMFs for Quinolones (QNs) antibiotics and carbon/nitrogen sources between pelagic foodweb (PFW, 11 species) and benthic foodweb (BFW, 14 species) in Baiyangdian Lake, Northern China. δ13C showed higher values in BFW, while δ15N appeared higher values in PFW. The mean percentage of pelagic nitrogen source (PNS) was higher than benthic nitrogen source (BNS), while the mean percentages of pelagic carbon source (PCS) and benthic carbon source (BCS) were approximately equal. Relatively high concentrations of enrofloxacin (ENR), flumequine (FLU), norfloxacin (NOR), and ofloxacin (OFL) were detected, and the total concentrations of QNs were 27.73–126.4 ng/g dw in PFW, while 23.49–121.3 ng/g dw in BFW. ENR and NOR appeared trophic magnification, while FLU and OFL exhibited trophic dilution. The TMFs of these QNs in PFW were significantly higher than in BFW. The concentration of QNs in biological samples were significantly positive correlation with δ15N, while negative correlated with δ13C. The TMFs for FLU and OFL were positively correlated with PCS/PNS, while negatively correlated with BCS/BNS. The opposite was true for NOR and ENR. Capsule abstractFirst studied the differences of TMFs for typical QNs and carbon/nitrogen sources between PFW and BFW in a shallow lake.