Mercury concentrations of two toothfish and three of its prey species from the Pacific sector of the Antarctic

Abstract Muscle tissue samples were collected from Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni Norman) and Patagonian toothfish ( D. eleginoides Smitt) in 1998 and from D. mawsoni and three of its prey species - Whitson's grenadier ( Macrourus whitsoni (Regan)), ice fish ( Chionobathyscus dewitt...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Hanchet, Stuart M., Tracey, Dianne, Dunn, Alistair, Horn, Peter, Smith, Neville
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2011
Subjects:
Geology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Pacific
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctic Toothfish
Patagonian Toothfish
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102011000654
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102011000654
Description
Summary:Abstract Muscle tissue samples were collected from Antarctic toothfish ( Dissostichus mawsoni Norman) and Patagonian toothfish ( D. eleginoides Smitt) in 1998 and from D. mawsoni and three of its prey species - Whitson's grenadier ( Macrourus whitsoni (Regan)), ice fish ( Chionobathyscus dewitti Andriashev & Neyelov), and blue antimora ( Antimora rostrata (Günther)) - in 2006 to determine their mercury. Mercury levels were highly variable both within and between the five species studied but were positively correlated with fish length in four of the species. Once the factors length and year had been accounted for, the mercury levels in D. eleginoides were more than four times greater than in D. mawsoni . The low levels of mercury in D. mawsoni relative to its prey species and the four-fold difference in mercury concentrations between it and D. eleginoides were unexpected. Reasons for these different levels of bioaccumulation were explored including differences in diet, growth and longevity, and location. Differences in bioaccumulation between the two toothfish species could be explained partly through differences in their geographic distribution and differences in trophic position. However, the low levels of mercury in D. mawsoni relative to its prey species can only be explained by a lower rate of mercury assimilation and/or a higher rate of mercury elimination by D. mawsoni .

Similar Items