Distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the food web of a high mountain lake, Pyrenees, Catalonia, Spain

We investigated the contents of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the food web organisms included in the diet of brown trout from a remote mountain lake. The preferential habitat and trophic level of the component species have been assessed from the signature of stable isotopes (δ13C and δ15N). Subsequently, the patterns of accumulation and transformation of these hydrocarbons in the food chain have been elucidated. Most of the food web organisms exhibit PAH distributions largely dominated by phenanthrene, which agrees with its predominance in atmospheric deposition, water, and suspended particles. Total PAH levels are higher in the organisms from the littoral habitat than from the deep sediments or the pelagic water column. However, organisms from deep sediments exhibit higher proportions of higher molecular weight PAH than those in other lake areas. Distinct organisms exhibit specific features in their relative PAH composition that point to different capacities for uptake and metabolic degradation. Brown trout show an elevated capacity for metabolic degradation because they have lower PAH concentrations than food and they are enriched strongly in lower molecular weight compounds. The PAH levels in trout highly depend on organisms living in the littoral areas. Fish exposure to PAH, therefore, may vary from lake to lake according to the relative contribution of littoral organisms to their diet.