Bioaccumulation of perfluoroalkyl substances in the lake Erie food web

The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the Lake Erie food web was investigated by analyzing surface water and biological samples including 10 taxa of fish species, 2 taxa of benthos and zooplankton. The carbon (delta C-13) and nitrogen (delta N-15) isotopic composition and fatty acids profiles of biological samples were used to evaluate the food web structure and assess the biomagnification of Sigma PFAS. Perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) dominated the total Sigma PFAS (SPFAS) concentration (50-90% of SPFAS concentration), followed by C9-C11 perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs). The highest PFOS concentrations (79 +/- 4.8 ng/g, wet weight (wwt)) and SPFAS (88 +/- 5.2 ng/g, wwt) were detected in yellow perch (Perca flavescens). The C8-C14 PFAS biomagnification factors (BMFs) between apex piscivorous fish and prey fish were found to be generally greater than 1, indicative of PFAS biomagnification, while biodilution (BMF<1) was observed between planktivorous fish and zooplankton. Trophic magnification factors (TMFs) of C8-C14 PFCA were not correlated with perfluoroalkyl chain length. The C4-C9 PFAS were detected in the surface water of Lake Erie, and PFBA was found to have the highest concentrations (2.1-2.8 ng/L) among all PFAS detected. The log of bioaccumulation factor (BAF) was found to generally increase with increasing log K-ow for C6, 8, and 9 PFAS in all selected species from three tropic levels.

Automated summary

The bioaccumulation and biomagnification of PFAS in the Lake Erie food web were investigated using surface water and biological samples. PFOS was the dominant PFAS in the samples, followed by C9-C11 PFCAs. Apex piscivorous fish showed biomagnification of C8-C14 PFAS, while planktivorous fish exhibited biodilution. PFAS concentrations in surface water ranged from 2.1-2.8 ng/L, with PFBA being the highest. The bioaccumulation factor generally increased with log Kow for C6, 8, and 9 PFAS in all selected species.