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Philip M. Gschwend. Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie) Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 2020-03-23T18:10:59Z 2020-03-23T18:10:59Z 2019 2019 https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/124190 1144932128 Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2019 Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references (pages 31-34). Food chain bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can result in harmful concentrations within higher trophic level organisms such as fish and humans. It is important to consider how the concentrations of PCBs in phytoplankton and zooplankton affect higher trophic organisms. It was hypothesized that polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations within primary producers such as phytoplankton simply reflect chemical equilibrium of PCB congeners freely dissolved in the water column and in the lipid fraction of the plankton. In this study, the freely dissolved PCBs in the water of Lake Cochituate, MA, were measured using polyethylene (PE) passive sampling strips, thereby avoiding problems associated with colloid-bound PCBs. Phytoplankton and zooplankton samples were measured to determine their PCB levels and lipid fractions. The phytoplankton were at equilibrium in the fall of 2016. The phytoplankton and zooplankton appeared close to equilibrium in the spring of 2017. The large PCB congeners measured in the spring of 2017 may have been undersaturated, consistent with the idea that rapid growth leads to phytoplankton undersaturation. by Angela Cacciola. S.M. S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering 61 pages eng Massachusetts Institute of Technology MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582 Civil and Environmental Engineering. Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live? Are polychlorinated biphenyls in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live? Thesis application/pdf 2020-03-23T18:10:58Z Publication Master CivEng unknown unknown <Publication xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/1.1/" id="2483894d-4de4-4761-a6f3-a6f7f6e3c5c0"> <Type xmlns="https://www.openaire.eu/cerif-profile/vocab/COAR_Publication_Types">http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_1843</Type> <Language>eng</Language> <Title>Are PCBS in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?</Title> <Subtitle>Are polychlorinated biphenyls in phytoplankton and zooplankton at equilibrium with the water in which they live?</Subtitle> <PublishedIn> <Publication> </Publication> </PublishedIn> <PublicationDate>2019</PublicationDate> <Authors> <Author> <DisplayName>Cacciola, Angela(Angela Marie)</DisplayName> <Affiliation> <OrgUnit> </OrgUnit> </Affiliation> </Author> </Authors> <Editors> </Editors> <Publishers> <Publisher> <DisplayName>Massachusetts Institute of Technology</DisplayName> <OrgUnit /> </Publisher> </Publishers> <License>http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582</License> <Keyword>Civil and Environmental Engineering.</Keyword> <Abstract>Food chain bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can result in harmful concentrations within higher trophic level organisms such as fish and humans. It is important to consider how the concentrations of PCBs in phytoplankton and zooplankton affect higher trophic organisms. It was hypothesized that polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations within primary producers such as phytoplankton simply reflect chemical equilibrium of PCB congeners freely dissolved in the water column and in the lipid fraction of the plankton. In this study, the freely dissolved PCBs in the water of Lake Cochituate, MA, were measured using polyethylene (PE) passive sampling strips, thereby avoiding problems associated with colloid-bound PCBs. Phytoplankton and zooplankton samples were measured to determine their PCB levels and lipid fractions. The phytoplankton were at equilibrium in the fall of 2016. The phytoplankton and zooplankton appeared close to equilibrium in the spring of 2017. The large PCB congeners measured in the spring of 2017 may have been undersaturated, consistent with the idea that rapid growth leads to phytoplankton undersaturation.</Abstract> <Access xmlns="http://purl.org/coar/access_right" > </Access> </Publication>