**Ecological Risk and Distribution of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Fish**

T. Brázová, V. Hanzelová and P. Šalamún

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/60405

#### **Abstract**

The distribution and concentrations of polychrolinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in nine freshwater fish species and the parasite *Acanthocephalus lucii* in Zemplínska šírava, a heavily polluted water reservoir in Slovakia. The study performed at two different time points five years apart (2004 and 2009) revealed excessive PCB contamination of the fish muscle tissue and significant interspecies as well as tissue-specific differences in PCB uptake by fish. Total PCBs broadly correlated with the trophic position of individual fish species within a food chain (P < 0.01). The concentrations were particularly high in predatory fish species, perch, pike and pikeperch (108.0, 90.1, 113.0 mg.kg–1 lipid wt, respectively), but comparable PCB values were also found in non-predatory detritivorous freshwater bream (128.0 mg.kg–1 lipid wt). Tissue-specific differences in PCB concentrations were observed: liver > adipose tissue > muscles > hard roe > bones > brain. Maximum concentrations of PCBs were recorded in the liver of northern pike (214.0 mg.kg-1 lipid wt) and the hepatopancreas of freshwater bream (163.0 mg.kg-1 lipid wt). Individual congeners were not distrib‐ uted homogeneously within the investigated organs and the adipose tissue. PCB 153 was present in the higher concentrations than other congeners in all fish organs as well as the adipose tissue. Acanthocephalans absorbed significantly higher concen‐ trations of PCBs (P<0.001) than the muscles, liver, kidney, brain and adipose tissue of their host. About 20-fold lower PCB levels was detected in the liver and almost three times in the muscles of infected perch. Data on PCB accumulation in perch infected with acanthocephalans demonstrated a decline of PCB values in all organs as well as the adipose tissue compared to uninfected fish. The study has shown that the fish species, its feeding habit and specific conditions of the habitat are mutually interre‐ lated factors that are responsible for significant variations in fish body burdens.

© 2015 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

**Keywords:** polychlorinated biphenyls, pollution, fish, parasites, water reservoir Zemplínska šírava
