Bioaccumulation of organotin compounds in the red sea bream (pagrus major) by two uptake pathways: Dietary uptake and direct uptake from water

Abstract

Abstract The bioaccumulation and elimination of organotin compounds in Pagrus major during dietary uptake and/or direct uptake from water were studied. When tributyltin (TBT) and triphenyltin (TPT) compounds were accumulated in fish from seawater and from feed simultaneously, about one-quarter of the bioaccumulation was due to the dietary uptake. The biomagnification factors (BMFs) were 0.26 to 0.38 for TBT and 0.57 for TPT. BMF was not significantly altered by the concentration nor the species of chemicals in the feed. The assimilation efficiency of ingested TBT and TPT was 9.5 to 12.7 and 19.6%, respectively, and percentage retention was 24.2% for TBT and 60.1% for TPT. The BMF, percentage retention, and assimilation efficiency of TBT were all lower than those of TPT, suggesting that TPT compounds are more easily accumulated by dietary uptake than TBT compounds. Compared to PCBs and methylmercury chloride, the assimilation efficiency and the percentage retention of organotin compounds were low. These lower values imply that the risk of bioaccumulating the ingested organotin compounds might be smaller than for PCBs and methylmercury chloride.