Latitudinal Fractionation of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Frogs (Rana temporaria)

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 36; no. 23; pp. 5057 - 5061
• Main Authors: ter Schure, Arnout F. H, Larsson, Per, Merilä, Juha, Jönsson, K. Ingemar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01.12.2002
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Biokemi och molekylärbiologi; Biological and medical sciences; Biological Sciences; Biologiska vetenskaper; Body Constitution; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Environmental Pollutants - pharmacokinetics; Female; Flame Retardants - analysis; Flame Retardants - pharmacokinetics; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Liver - chemistry; Male; Natural Sciences; Naturvetenskap; Polybrominated Biphenyls - analysis; Polybrominated Biphenyls - pharmacokinetics; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - analysis; Polychlorinated Biphenyls - pharmacokinetics; Rana temporaria; Reptilia. Amphibia; Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; Scandinavian Peninsula; Tissue Distribution; Scandinavia; Europe; Scandinavian and Nordic Countries; Long distance; Latitudinal variation; Digestive system; Liver; Amphibia; Flame retardant; Salientia; Concentration; Polychlorobiphenyl; Pollutant; Vertebrata; Geographic distribution; Organochlorine compounds; Chlorocarbon; Ranidae; Rana temporaria
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es0258632

The flame retardant polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have become ubiquitous environmental pollutants. The environmental distribution of PBDEs is much less studied than that of the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). To compare the environmental fate of the PCBs with their partial substitute, the PBDEs, common frogs (Rana temporaria) were collected along a ∼1500-km-long latitudinal gradient of the Scandinavian Peninsula and their livers analyzed for PCBs and PBDEs. Mean concentrations of total PCBs and BDE47 ranged from 9200 to 92 900 and 30 to 120 ng kg-1 fresh weight, respectively, whereas BDE99 was detected in less than 50% of the frogs. PCB concentrations were higher than that of the PBDEs, and the differences decreased in the northern latitudes. Moreover, the pollutant concentrations in frog livers were negative functions of latitude. The observed scatter and regression slopes imply several influencing factors (such as habitat, exposure route, uptake, metabolism, excretion, etc.) and indicate release events instead of the grasshopper effect. Biological variables such as gender, age, body size, and lipid content did not influence pollutant concentrations in the frog livers. The total PCB and BDE47 concentrations in frogs were highly correlated. Hence, their environmental fate is analogous and our results highlight the need to examine the potential role of xenobiotics on amphibian populations.