Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?

Damselfly larvae have been widely used to evaluate the environmental quality of freshwater ecosystems. However, there have been limited studies on the pollution characteristics of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in damselfly larvae. This study investigated the pollution profiles, influencing factors,...

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Main Authors: Wanru Zhang, Mei Wang, Ang Zhao, Yangyang Liu, Yuting Ren, Huijie Dang, Jianzhong Xu, Chao Wei, Yuxia Yang, Haoyu Liu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-09-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25007952
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author Wanru Zhang
Mei Wang
Ang Zhao
Yangyang Liu
Yuting Ren
Huijie Dang
Jianzhong Xu
Chao Wei
Yuxia Yang
Haoyu Liu
author_facet Wanru Zhang
Mei Wang
Ang Zhao
Yangyang Liu
Yuting Ren
Huijie Dang
Jianzhong Xu
Chao Wei
Yuxia Yang
Haoyu Liu
author_sort Wanru Zhang
collection DOAJ
description Damselfly larvae have been widely used to evaluate the environmental quality of freshwater ecosystems. However, there have been limited studies on the pollution characteristics of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in damselfly larvae. This study investigated the pollution profiles, influencing factors, and biological enrichment of OPEs in a total of 358 damselfly larvae for the first time. The results demonstrated that the concentration of OPEs in the damselfly larvae ranged from 20.56 to 2363.02 ng/g wet weight (ww), exceeding levels reported in previous studies on other aquatic organisms. Tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP) was identified as the main OPE, ranging from 1.56 to 2318.94 ng/g (ww) and accounting for 7.59–98.13 % of total OPEs detected. Damselfly larvae exhibited significant biological enrichment for TBEP with an enrichment factor of 249,917 L/kg, probably due to their inherent high sensitivity to this pollutant. However, there was no significant correlation between logKow (octanol-water partition coefficient) and log BCF (bioconcentration factor), suggesting that logKow may not be the sole factor affecting biological enrichment of OPE compounds in damselfly larvae. OPE concentrations in damselfly larvae showed a positive correlation with water temperature, whereas a significantly negative correlation with total nitrogen levels. The main sources contributing to OPE pollution were daily activities and ship traffic, industrial production processes, and pesticide applications in agricultural practices. These findings suggest that damselfly larvae can serve as bioindicators for assessing OPE compound contamination in aquatic environments.
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spelling doaj-art-d99063a00477416f8f4ce4df31a83fce2025-08-20T03:49:46ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-09-0117811386510.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113865Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?Wanru Zhang0Mei Wang1Ang Zhao2Yangyang Liu3Yuting Ren4Huijie Dang5Jianzhong Xu6Chao Wei7Yuxia Yang8Haoyu Liu9Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application, School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaCollege of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; Corresponding author.College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaCollege of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaCollege of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaCollege of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaCollege of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaCollege of Chemistry and Materials Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaKey Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application, School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, ChinaKey Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application, School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; Hebei Basic Science Center for Biotic Interaction, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; Corresponding author at: Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application, School of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.Damselfly larvae have been widely used to evaluate the environmental quality of freshwater ecosystems. However, there have been limited studies on the pollution characteristics of organophosphate esters (OPEs) in damselfly larvae. This study investigated the pollution profiles, influencing factors, and biological enrichment of OPEs in a total of 358 damselfly larvae for the first time. The results demonstrated that the concentration of OPEs in the damselfly larvae ranged from 20.56 to 2363.02 ng/g wet weight (ww), exceeding levels reported in previous studies on other aquatic organisms. Tris(2-butoxyethyl) phosphate (TBEP) was identified as the main OPE, ranging from 1.56 to 2318.94 ng/g (ww) and accounting for 7.59–98.13 % of total OPEs detected. Damselfly larvae exhibited significant biological enrichment for TBEP with an enrichment factor of 249,917 L/kg, probably due to their inherent high sensitivity to this pollutant. However, there was no significant correlation between logKow (octanol-water partition coefficient) and log BCF (bioconcentration factor), suggesting that logKow may not be the sole factor affecting biological enrichment of OPE compounds in damselfly larvae. OPE concentrations in damselfly larvae showed a positive correlation with water temperature, whereas a significantly negative correlation with total nitrogen levels. The main sources contributing to OPE pollution were daily activities and ship traffic, industrial production processes, and pesticide applications in agricultural practices. These findings suggest that damselfly larvae can serve as bioindicators for assessing OPE compound contamination in aquatic environments.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25007952Organophosphate estersDamselfly larvaeBiological enrichment
spellingShingle Wanru Zhang
Mei Wang
Ang Zhao
Yangyang Liu
Yuting Ren
Huijie Dang
Jianzhong Xu
Chao Wei
Yuxia Yang
Haoyu Liu
Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?
Ecological Indicators
Organophosphate esters
Damselfly larvae
Biological enrichment
title Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?
title_full Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?
title_fullStr Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?
title_full_unstemmed Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?
title_short Can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments?
title_sort can damselfly larvae serve as bioindicator species for assessing contamination of organophosphate esters in aquatic environments
topic Organophosphate esters
Damselfly larvae
Biological enrichment
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25007952
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