Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2021
Quantification of Biodriven Transfer of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances from the Aquatic to the Terrestrial Environment via Emergent Insects
Koch, Alina; Jonsson, Micael; Yeung, Leo W. Y.; Karrman, Anna; Ahrens, Lutz; Ekblad, Alf; Wang, ThanhAbstract
Emergent aquatic insects are important food subsidies to riparian food webs but can also transfer waterborne contaminants to the terrestrial environment. This study aimed to quantitatively assess this biodriven transfer for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). Aquatic insect larvae, emergent aquatic insects, terrestrial consumers, sediment, and water were collected from a contaminated lake and stream and an uncontaminated pond, and analyzed for PFAS and stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen. Top predators in this study were spiders, which showed the highest average Sigma(24)PFAS concentration of 1400 +/- 80 ng g(-1) dry weight (dw) at the lake and 630 ng g(-1) dw at the stream. The transfer of PFAS from the lake to the riparian zone, via deposition of emergent aquatic insects, was 280 ng Sigma 24PFAs m(-2) d(-1) in 2017 and only 23 ng Sigma 24PFAs m(-2) d(-1) in 2018. Because of higher production of emergent aquatic insects, the lake had higher PFAS transfer and higher concentrations in terrestrial consumers compared to the stream, despite the stream having higher PFAS concentration in water and aquatic insect larvae. Our results indicate that biodriven transfer of PFAS from the aquatic systems and subsequent uptake in terrestrial food webs depend more on emergence amounts, i.e., aquatic prey availability, rather than on PFAS concentrations in water and aquatic prey.Keywords
PFAS; biodriven transfer; emergent aquatic insects; terrestrial consumersPublished in
Environmental Science and Technology2021, volume: 55, number: 12, pages: 7900-7909
Publisher: AMER CHEMICAL SOC
Authors' information
Koch, Alina
Orebro University
Jonsson, Micael
Umea University
Yeung, Leo W. Y.
Orebro University
Karrman, Anna
Orebro University
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment
Ekblad, Alf
Orebro University
Wang, Thanh
Orebro University
UKÄ Subject classification
Environmental Sciences
Publication Identifiers
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c07129
URI (permanent link to this page)
https://res.slu.se/id/publ/113086