Remote mountain lakes, whether found at high altitudes, usually appear to be in pristine condition. However, recent research indicates that even the most remote lakes are impacted by atmospherically transported pollutants. Indeed, high-mountain ecosystems are areas of regional convergence of atmospheric pollutants: due to their high elevation, mountains intercept the flux of chemicals coming from the lowland. Moreover, the deposition of volatile compounds by condensation is favored by the lower temperature at the summit compared to the valley bottom. Generally, pollutant monitoring data in high-mountain lakes are currently incomplete, with many regions and substances having been only poorly investigated. Thus, in this study we evaluated the occurrence of 41 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) by GCOrbitrap applying the ROIMCR chemometric approach in specimens of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from two high mountain lakes (Balma Lakes) located in northwest Italy (Cottian Alps). POPs considered in this study were: polychlorobiphenyls-PCBs (7), organochlorine compounds-OCPs (26) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers-PBDEs (8) which are included in the Stockholm Convention. Results revealed that fish muscle contained mainly hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene, methoxychlor, p,p'- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153 and PCB-180 at concentrations ranging from 0.01 ng/g to 2.5 ng/g wet weight (w.w.). Although the POPs concentrations in fish muscle were quite low, the vulnerability of high-mountain lakes to their toxic effects has to be expected due to the harsh environmental conditions, the organism’s traits, the insular position of mountain lakes and a lower species richness with increasing altitudes. To verify this suggestion and expand the existing knowledge, it is necessary that future studies combine a more holistic pollution monitoring with exposure modelling and links to biological effects.
Occurrence of Persistent Organic Pollutants in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from two high-mountain lakes (Cottian Alps)
Pizzul E.;Bertoli M.;
2023-01-01
Abstract
Remote mountain lakes, whether found at high altitudes, usually appear to be in pristine condition. However, recent research indicates that even the most remote lakes are impacted by atmospherically transported pollutants. Indeed, high-mountain ecosystems are areas of regional convergence of atmospheric pollutants: due to their high elevation, mountains intercept the flux of chemicals coming from the lowland. Moreover, the deposition of volatile compounds by condensation is favored by the lower temperature at the summit compared to the valley bottom. Generally, pollutant monitoring data in high-mountain lakes are currently incomplete, with many regions and substances having been only poorly investigated. Thus, in this study we evaluated the occurrence of 41 Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) by GCOrbitrap applying the ROIMCR chemometric approach in specimens of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from two high mountain lakes (Balma Lakes) located in northwest Italy (Cottian Alps). POPs considered in this study were: polychlorobiphenyls-PCBs (7), organochlorine compounds-OCPs (26) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers-PBDEs (8) which are included in the Stockholm Convention. Results revealed that fish muscle contained mainly hexachlorobenzene, pentachlorobenzene, hexachlorobutadiene, methoxychlor, p,p'- dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, PCB-101, PCB-118, PCB-138, PCB-153 and PCB-180 at concentrations ranging from 0.01 ng/g to 2.5 ng/g wet weight (w.w.). Although the POPs concentrations in fish muscle were quite low, the vulnerability of high-mountain lakes to their toxic effects has to be expected due to the harsh environmental conditions, the organism’s traits, the insular position of mountain lakes and a lower species richness with increasing altitudes. To verify this suggestion and expand the existing knowledge, it is necessary that future studies combine a more holistic pollution monitoring with exposure modelling and links to biological effects.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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