| Abstract: | The risk of bioaccumulation of persistent liposoluble pollutants in marine food chains was highlighted by work done on organochlorine residues in marine organisms in the early 1960s. In one study, concentrations of DDE and dieldrin were determined in species from different trophic levels of the Farne Island ecosystem.1 Concentrations of pollutants were related to trophic levels, with the highest levels occurring in predators such as the cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) and the shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis). This paper will consider model systems which may be used to predict bioaccumulation risks from simple in vitro data. Emphasis will be upon persistent liposoluble pollutants with relatively simple patterns of metabolism, and upon the problem of bioaccumulation by marine predators. |
