Source and species-dependent accumulation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in littoral indicator organisms from norwegian smelter-affected marine waters

The accumulation responses of littoral indicator organisms to different sources of combustion-derived PAHs have been analysed using principal component analysis (PCA). Further, biota profiles were compared with sediment profiles. The data consisted of a total of 272 samples of Mytilus edulis, Modiolus modiolus, Littorina littorea and Patella vulgata collected over a 20-year period from seven smelter-affected fjords. The results show that the indicator organisms reflect contaminant levels in the ambient environment and that their metabolic regulation was not strong enough to suppress source-specific signals from the smelter-generated PAHs. The indicators generally captured the same patterns as the sediments, demonstrating their ability to integrate over time as well as space. The differences in PAH patterns between the various indicator organisms were mainly a function of their depth and habitat preferences, and thus of ambient PAH composition. A simple dispersion model would suffice for illustrating the main distribution of total PAH concentration.