Trophic transfer of naturally produced brominated aromatic compounds in a Baltic Sea food chain

Brominated aromatic compounds (BACs) are widely distributed in the marine environment. Some of these compounds are highly toxic, such as certain hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (OH-PBDEs). In addition to anthropogenic emissions through use of BACs as e.g. flame retardants, BACs are natural products formed by marine organisms such as algae, sponges, and cyanobacteria. Little is known of the transfer of BACs from natural producers and further up in the trophic food chain. In this study it was observed that total sum of methoxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers (MeO-PBDEs) and OH-PBDEs increased in concentration from the filamentous red alga Ceramium tenuicorne, via Gammarus sp. and three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to perch (Perca fluviatilis). The MeO-PBDEs, which were expected to bioaccumulate, increased in concentration accordingly up to perch, where the levels suddenly dropped dramatically. The opposite pattern was observed for OH-PBDEs, where the concentration exhibited a general trend of decline up the food web, but increased in perch, indicating metabolic demethylation of MeO-PBDEs. Debromination was also indicated to occur when progressing through the food chain resulting in high levels of tetra-brominated MeO-PBDE and OH-PBDE congeners in fish, while some penta- and hexa-brominated congeners were observed to be the dominant products in the alga. As it has been shown that OH-PBDEs are potent disruptors of oxidative phosphorylation and that mixtures of different congener may act synergistically in terms of this toxic mode of action, the high levels of OH-PBDEs detected in perch in this study warrants further investigation into potential effects of these compounds on Baltic wildlife, and monitoring of their levels.