Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web
Abstract Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element that enters the biosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources, and emitted gaseous Hg enters the Arctic from lower latitudes by long‐range transport. In aquatic systems, anoxic conditions favor the bacterial transformation of inorganic Hg to methylmercury...
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crwiley:10.1002/etc.3143 2024-10-13T14:05:09+00:00 Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web Ruus, Anders Øverjordet, Ida B. Braaten, Hans Fredrik V. Evenset, Anita Christensen, Guttorm Heimstad, Eldbjørg S. Gabrielsen, Geir W. Borgå, Katrine the Fram Centre the Norwegian Research Council 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.3143 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fetc.3143 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/etc.3143 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry volume 34, issue 11, page 2636-2643 ISSN 0730-7268 1552-8618 journal-article 2015 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.3143 2024-09-17T04:52:03Z Abstract Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element that enters the biosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources, and emitted gaseous Hg enters the Arctic from lower latitudes by long‐range transport. In aquatic systems, anoxic conditions favor the bacterial transformation of inorganic Hg to methylmercury (MeHg), which has a greater potential for bioaccumulation than inorganic Hg and is the most toxic form of Hg. The main objective of the present study was to quantify the biomagnification of MeHg in a marine pelagic food web, comprising species of zooplankton, fish, and seabirds, from the Kongsfjorden system (Svalbard, Norway), by use of trophic magnification factors. As expected, tissue concentrations of MeHg increased with increasing trophic level in the food web, though at greater rates than observed in several earlier studies, especially at lower latitudes. There was strong correlation between MeHg and total Hg concentrations through the food web as a whole. The concentration of MeHg in kittiwake decreased from May to October, contributing to seasonal differences in trophic magnification factors. The ecology and physiology of the species comprising the food web in question may have a large influence on the magnitude of the biomagnification. A significant linear relationship was also observed between concentrations of selenium and total Hg in birds but not in zooplankton, suggesting the importance of selenium in Hg detoxification for individuals with high Hg concentrations. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:2636–2643. © 2015 SETAC Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard Zooplankton Wiley Online Library Arctic Norway Svalbard Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 34 11 2636 2643 |
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Wiley Online Library |
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crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element that enters the biosphere from natural and anthropogenic sources, and emitted gaseous Hg enters the Arctic from lower latitudes by long‐range transport. In aquatic systems, anoxic conditions favor the bacterial transformation of inorganic Hg to methylmercury (MeHg), which has a greater potential for bioaccumulation than inorganic Hg and is the most toxic form of Hg. The main objective of the present study was to quantify the biomagnification of MeHg in a marine pelagic food web, comprising species of zooplankton, fish, and seabirds, from the Kongsfjorden system (Svalbard, Norway), by use of trophic magnification factors. As expected, tissue concentrations of MeHg increased with increasing trophic level in the food web, though at greater rates than observed in several earlier studies, especially at lower latitudes. There was strong correlation between MeHg and total Hg concentrations through the food web as a whole. The concentration of MeHg in kittiwake decreased from May to October, contributing to seasonal differences in trophic magnification factors. The ecology and physiology of the species comprising the food web in question may have a large influence on the magnitude of the biomagnification. A significant linear relationship was also observed between concentrations of selenium and total Hg in birds but not in zooplankton, suggesting the importance of selenium in Hg detoxification for individuals with high Hg concentrations. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:2636–2643. © 2015 SETAC |
author2 |
the Fram Centre the Norwegian Research Council |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ruus, Anders Øverjordet, Ida B. Braaten, Hans Fredrik V. Evenset, Anita Christensen, Guttorm Heimstad, Eldbjørg S. Gabrielsen, Geir W. Borgå, Katrine |
spellingShingle |
Ruus, Anders Øverjordet, Ida B. Braaten, Hans Fredrik V. Evenset, Anita Christensen, Guttorm Heimstad, Eldbjørg S. Gabrielsen, Geir W. Borgå, Katrine Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web |
author_facet |
Ruus, Anders Øverjordet, Ida B. Braaten, Hans Fredrik V. Evenset, Anita Christensen, Guttorm Heimstad, Eldbjørg S. Gabrielsen, Geir W. Borgå, Katrine |
author_sort |
Ruus, Anders |
title |
Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web |
title_short |
Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web |
title_full |
Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web |
title_fullStr |
Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web |
title_full_unstemmed |
Methylmercury biomagnification in an Arctic pelagic food web |
title_sort |
methylmercury biomagnification in an arctic pelagic food web |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/etc.3143 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Fetc.3143 https://setac.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/etc.3143 |
geographic |
Arctic Norway Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Norway Svalbard |
genre |
Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard Zooplankton |
genre_facet |
Arctic Kongsfjord* Kongsfjorden Svalbard Zooplankton |
op_source |
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry volume 34, issue 11, page 2636-2643 ISSN 0730-7268 1552-8618 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.3143 |
container_title |
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |
container_volume |
34 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
2636 |
op_container_end_page |
2643 |
_version_ |
1812811219976847360 |