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In situ biomonitoring using caged lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) eggs reveal plastic and rubber associated chemicals in a harbour area in Central Norway
Summary
Researchers deployed caged lumpfish at marine sites to assess contamination levels in coastal waters, using the fish as living sentinels that accumulate pollutants from their environment. This in situ biomonitoring approach captures real-world exposure conditions that laboratory tests cannot replicate, providing more ecologically relevant data on marine contamination. The method offers a practical tool for ongoing surveillance of pollution in marine ecosystems.
Plastics- and rubber-derived chemicals are given increasing focus due to their migration into the environment and potential for causing detrimental effects. The current study demonstrates the use of a novel biomonitoring platform using caged fertilized eggs of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) in combination with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry analysis of a selection of target chemicals extracted from the lumpfish eggs after deployment. A monitoring campaign in the Trondheim harbor and off the coast of Trøndelag in Norway was executed using the described system. Here we found accumulation of UV stabilizers (benzophenone and benzothiazoles), plasticizers (n-butylbenzenesulfonamide), reagents, and polymer synthesis precursors (bisphenol A, acetophenone, phthalide, and phthalimide) in deployed eggs. Several of the compounds were detected in concentrations above previously quantified legacy contaminants in the same study areas.