First large-scale CEC screening study targeting marine environment incorporated into Bight ’18

Bioanalytical cell screening assays and non-targeted chemical analysis are being used for the first time to screen for CECs across the Southern California Bight as part of an expanded Bight ’18 sediment quality study.

Participants of the Southern California Bight 2018 Regional Monitoring Program, which began field sampling in July, are collecting both seafloor sediment and the tissue of sportfish. SCCWRP and its partners are screening the samples for evidence of bioactive contaminants that have the potential to trigger biological impacts in fish.

Bioanalytical screening, a commercially available technology that SCCWRP and its partners are working to adapt for use in aquatic monitoring applications, and non-targeted chemical analysis, an analytical method that identifies chemical mixtures by their unique fingerprints, together have the potential to help water-quality managers cost-effectively and comprehensively screen water bodies for bioactive CECs.

Bight ’18 participants will be able to use the study’s findings to help identify and prioritize habitats where  CECs may pose the greatest ecological health risks in the Southern California Bight.

SCCWRP and its partners already have successfully applied bioanalytical screening and non-targeted analysis to freshwater systems across California. Test-driving these technologies across the Bight will provide insights into their efficacy in a complex marine environment.