AbstractRepresentatives of the Anta

Abstract
Representatives of the Antarctic food web (krill, cephalopod, fish, penguin, seal) of the area around Elephant Island and from the
Weddell Sea were analysed for the most recalcitrant organochlorine compounds. Due to sorption of the compounds to sinking
particles and accumulation in sediments, two benthic fish species (Gobionotothen gibberifrons, Chaenocephalus aceratus) feeding on
benthos invertebrates and fish reflected significantly increasing concentrations within a decade (1987–1996), while a benthopelagic
species (Champsocephalus gunnari) feeding on krill did not. In the pelagic food chain, lipid normalised concentrations of all compounds
increased from Antarctic krill to fish proving that biomagnification of highly lipophilic pollutants (log octanol–water
partition coefficient > 5) occurs in water-breathing animals. As top predators Weddell and southern elephant seals (Leptonychotes
weddellii, Mirounga leonina) biomagnified the persistent organic pollutants relative to krill 30–160 fold with the exception of
hexachlorobenzene, the levels of which were lower than in fish indicating its intense specific elimination.

2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Halogenated hydrocarbons; POPs; Long-range transport; Temporal trend; Food webs; Bioaccumulation; Biomagnification; Antarctic