Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the coastal sea water, the surface sediment and Mudskipper Boleophthalmus dussumieri from coastal areas of the Persian Gulf: source investigation, composition pattern and spatial distribution

BACKGROUND: Persian Gulf is an exposed and stressed area as a result of oil pollution and other fossil fuels containing PAHs. The susceptibility of using mudskippers to monitor marine pollution, like PAHs, points to the fact that mudskippers are able to accumulate and record the PAHs presented in the coastal environments. METHODS: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were examined in the coastal waters, the sediments and biota (i.e., Boleophthalmus dussumieri) along the coast of the Persian Gulf. PAHs concentrations were measured with HPLC method. RESULTS: Total PAH concentrations in the sea water, the sediments, the liver and the gill tissues ranged between 0.80-18.34 μg/l, 113.50-3384.34 ng g(-1) (d w), 3.99-46.64 ng g(-1) (d w) and 3.11-17.76 ng g(-1) (d w), respectively. PAHs distribution patterns in the sediment and the liver tissue samples were dominated by three-and four-ring structures whereas two-and three-rings were dominated in the water and the gill. CONCLUSIONS: This finding revealed a negative eco-risk effects occasionally occur in this area. The higher presence of low condensate ring structures reflected a predominant origin of petrogenic and some cases of pyrolitic sources.