Influence of contaminant burial depth on the bioaccumulation of PCBs and PBDEs by two benthic invertebrates (Monoporeia affinis and Marenzelleria spp.)

The bioaccumulation of buried polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) added to specific depths in sediment (2.0–2.5, 5.0–5.5 and 10.0–10.5 cm) was studied in two infaunal species with similar feeding habits (surface deposit-feeders) but different bioturbation modes. The deep-burrowing polychaetes Marenzelleria spp. (Mz) displayed up to 36 times higher tissue concentrations of buried (spiked) contaminants than the surface-dwelling biodiffusing amphipod Monoporeia affinis. The differences in bioaccumulation were most pronounced for less hydrophobic contaminants due to the bioirrigating activity of Mz. Contaminants buried at shallow depths displayed higher accumulation than more deeply buried contaminants. In contrast, the bioaccumulation of unspiked (native) contaminants with a uniform vertical distribution in the sediment was similar between the species. For Mz, the BSAFs increased with increased KOW for the uniformly distributed contaminants, but decreased for the buried contaminants, which indicates that the dominant uptake routes of the buried contaminants can differ from the uniformly distributed contaminants. The surface sediment concentration of buried contaminants increased in Mz treatments, showing that Mz bioturbation can remobilize historically buried contaminants to the biologically active surface layer and increase the exposure for surface-dwelling species.

► The bioaccumulation of buried PCBs and PBDEs was measured in two benthic species.
► The deep-burrowing Marenzelleria accumulated more POPs than Monoporeia affinis.
► The accumulation was inversely related to contaminant burial depth.
► The accumulation by Marenzelleria was most enhanced for substances with log KOW ⩽ 6.
► Levels in surface sediment were higher in Marenzelleria treatments.