PCB uptake and accumulation by oysters (Crassostrea virginica) exposed via a contaminated algal diet

Reproductively active oysters were fed daily with 0.2 g algal paste containing 0, 0.1, and 1.0 microgram polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (1:1:1 mixture of Aroclor 1242, 1254 and 1260) for either 15 or 30 days, and accumulation of PCBs in different organ tissues and eggs assessed. The effects of PCB exposure on lipid content, lipid class and fatty acid composition were also evaluated. PCBs were accumulated by the oysters and transferred to the eggs. PCB accumulation in oysters was dose, time and tissue dependent. Mean PCB contents were 3150, 1970, and 250 ng/g dry wt., respectively, in the visceral mass, gills + mantle and muscle of oysters fed algal paste containing 1.0 microgram PCBs for 30 days. The PCBs in the eggs from the same oysters reached 671 ng PCBs/g dry wt. Feeding oysters with PCB-sorbed algal paste for 30 days significantly increased phospholipid and free fatty acid contents in gills + mantle tissue compared to the same tissues in the undosed control.