Fish and other vertebrates metabolise polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), arguably the most toxic components in oil, and the most sensitive method to detect exposure is to analyse the concentration of metabolites in bile.
This marker for exposure has been and is widely used in national and international monitoring programmes, but there is a lack of data from clean areas. In addition, there is a need to check and verify different methods used to quantify metabolites.
The project entails sample preparation and analyses of bile from cod, long rough dab, polar cod and capelin from the Barents sea, in addition to samples from campaigns in the outer Oslofjord from cod and long rough dab, but also other species for which we lack data.
Analyses will be performed at IBV, but also in collaboration with NIVA and IMR (Havforskningsinstituttet).
Supervisors: Khuong Van Dinh, Ketil Hylland, co-supervisors from NIVA and IMR