| This thesis investigated the processes regulating the exposure dynamics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the western Lake Erie and the Detroit River biota. First, the freshwater mussel, Elliptio complanata, was calibrated as a biomonitor of PAH and PCB water concentrations and used to assess bioavailable water concentrations along the Detroit River and western Lake Erie. Concentrations of the more hydrophobic PAHs and more water soluble PCBs were present at elevated concentrations at the Detroit Edison Generating Station, in the Trenton Channel. Elevated PAH concentrations were also detected at 3 other sites in the Detroit River.;Since it was found that PAHs and PCBs were present at high concentrations in the water of the study region, the distribution patterns of PAHs and PCBs were further determined in 4 benthic invertebrate species of western Lake Erie.;Overall, the results of this study suggest that many factors regulate the exposure dynamics of PAHs and PCBs in aquatic systems, such as chemical hydrophobicity, metabolic degradation, route of chemical uptake, and organism habitat, diet, feeding strategy, and lipid content. (Abstract shortened by UMI.). |
