Abstract
The fate of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon [3H]benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) was examined in two species of scleractinian corals, Favia fragum (Esper) and Montastrea annularis (Ellis and Solander), which were collected in the patch reefs surrounding Alina's Reef (25°23.25′N; 80°09.8′W) in Biscayne National Park, Florida, USA, in July, 1990. Corals were exposed to initial concentrations of 5 μg/l in a simple static system for 25 h. BaP uptake was estimated from the disappearance of BaP from the water. Uptake rates were 6.5±0.7 and 10.8±0.2 μg BaP cm-2h-1 for F. fragum and M. annularis, respectively, at initial BaP concentrations and were directly proportional to the concentration of BaP in the water. The separation of zooxanthellae from coral tissue revealed that zooxanthellae can accumulate up to 53 and 64% of the total BaP-derived radioactivity present in F. fragum and M. annularis, respectively. Both corals metabolized BaP slowly, as most of the accumulated radioactivity was present as the unmetabolized chemical. However, aqueous and organic-soluble metabolites were found in both the animal and zooxanthellae fractions. Analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) revealed that both species of corals metabolized BaP to various tetrols, triols, dihydrodiols, quinones and phenols, although the pattern of metabolites differed between species. Zooxanthellae contained some of the same Phase I metabolites found in the animal tissue; however, tetrols and triols were absent in extracts from the zooxanthellae. The elimination of BAP from corals was also slow; approximately 38 and 65% of the accumulated radioactivity was still present in F. fragum and M. annularis, respectively, 144 h following the transfer of exposed corals to an uncontaminated flow-through seawater system.
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Communicated by M. G. Hadfield, Honolulu
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Kennedy, C.J., Gassman, N.J. & Walsh, P.J. The fate of benzo[a]pyrene in the scleractinian corals Favia fragum and Montastrea annularis . Marine Biology 113, 313–318 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347286
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00347286