Occurrence and Trophic Magnification of Organophosphate Esters in an Antarctic Ecosystem: Insights into the Shift from Legacy to Emerging Pollutants.

• First report of OPEs occurrence in an Antarctic ecosystem. • TCEP and TCIPP were the dominant OPE individuals. • Trophic magnification behavior of TCEP, TCIPP and TPhP was discovered. • OPEs become one of the major organic pollutants in the Antarctic. Abstract Little is known about the occurrence and trophodynamics of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in the Antarctic ecosystem to date. The present study reported the ubiquitous occurrence of OPEs in an ecosystem from the Fildes Peninsula and Ardley Island, Antarctica for the first time. The OPE concentrations decreased in the following sequence based on dry weight: penguin feathers (94.4 ng/g)> fish (8.81 ng/g)> Cape petrel feathers (8.48 ng/g)> Archeogastropoda (Agas, 6.46 ng/g)> Neogastropoda (Ngas, 4.89 ng/g)> sediment (3.66 ng/g)> algae (1.60 ng/g). Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) and tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) accounted for 61.2% of detected OPEs in all samples. Significant trophic magnification behavior of TCEP, TCIPP and triphenyl phosphate (TPhP) was discovered, with trophic magnification factors of 5.20, 2.92 and 2.74, respectively. Compared to measurements of POPs from previous studies, OPEs level was much higher than legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs), which indicated the pollutant burden in the Antarctic ecosystems shifted from legacy POPs to emerging pollutants. Considering the biomagnification behavior of OPEs, the sensitivity of endemic species in polar region to anthropogenic pollutants and the remobilization of OPEs from melting glaciers due to global warming, more attention should be paid to the bioaccumulation and toxicological risks of OPEs in Antarctic environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]