Anthropogenic organic contaminants in water, sediments and benthic organisms of the mangrove-fringed Segara Anakan Lagoon, Java, Indonesia

Abstract

Segara Anakan, a mangrove-fringed coastal lagoon in Indonesia, has a high diversity of macrobenthic invertebrates and is increasingly affected by human activities. We found > 50 organic contaminants in water, sediment and macrobenthic invertebrates from the lagoon most of which were polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs). Composition of PACs pointed to petrogenic contamination in the eastern lagoon. PACs mainly consisted of alkylated PAHs, which are more abundant in crude oil than parent PAHs. Highest total PAC concentration in sediment was above reported toxicity thresholds for aquatic invertebrates. Other identified compounds derived from municipal sewage and also included novel contaminants like triphenylphosphine oxide. Numbers of stored contaminants varied between species which is probably related to differences in microhabitat and feeding mode. Most contaminants were detected in Telescopium telescopium and Polymesoda erosa. Our findings suggest that more attention should be paid to the risk potential of alkylated PAHs, which has hardly been addressed previously.