Effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the bioconcentration of organic chemicals in aquatic organisms — a review

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 1998-09, Vol.37 (7), p.1335-1362
• Main Authors: Haitzer, Markus, Höss, Sebastian, Traunspurger, Walter, Steinberg, Christian
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amphipoda; Analytical chemistry; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; aquatic organisms; bioavailability; bioconcentration; Biological and medical sciences; Bivalvia - drug effects; Bivalvia - metabolism; Chemistry; Crustacea - drug effects; Crustacea - metabolism; Daphnia - drug effects; Daphnia - metabolism; Daphnia magna; DOM; Ecosystem; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Exact sciences and technology; fish; Fishes - metabolism; Fresh Water; Fresh water environment; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General, instrumentation; humic acids; humic substances; Humic Substances - pharmacology; literature reviews; Mercenaria mercenaria; organic chemicals; Organic Chemicals - pharmacology; organic compounds; pesticide residues; pollutants; uptake; Water Pollution; Xenobiotics - pharmacokinetics
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/S0045-6535(98)00117-9

Current knowledge on the effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) on the bioconcentration of organic chemicals in aquatic animals (water fleas, mussels, amphipods and fish) is summarized. A graphical representation of the available data gives an overview of the magnitude of the observed effects. Most of the studies have shown decreases in bioconcentration in the presence of DOM (2 to 98% relative to DOM-free controls). However, at low DOM levels, up to 10 mg/L, also enhancements of bioconcentration due to DOM, ranging from 2 to 303% have been reported. Generally, the change in BCF W (Bioconcentration factor on a wet weight basis) per mg/L DOC was most pronounced at low levels of DOC. The data also show that DOM from different sources with different charactaristics and quality can lead to substantial variations in the bioconcentration of organic compounds at comparable levels of DOC. While decreases in bioconcentration have generally been attributed to a lack of bioavailability of DOM-bound chemical, no mechanisms have been proposed to explain increased uptake of xenobiotics caused by DOM.