Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa
The present study describes total mercury (THg) levels in surface water, sediment and biota from the Olifants River Basin (ORB) (South Africa) and investigates the trophic transfer of THg by means of trophic magnification factors (TMFs) in the subtropical ORB food web. Although levels in surface wat...
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ftnorthwestuniv:oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/31694 2023-05-15T15:10:30+02:00 Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa Verhaert, Vera Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Teuchies, Johannes Addo-Bediako, Abraham 12579769 - Wepener, Victor 2019 http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31694 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653518320861 en eng Elsevier Verhaert, V. et al. 2019. Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa. Chemosphere, 216:832-843. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211] 0045-6535 http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31694 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653518320861 Total mercury Bioaccumulation Trophic magnification factors Subtropical Olifants River Basin Article 2019 ftnorthwestuniv https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211 2019-06-04T13:21:03Z The present study describes total mercury (THg) levels in surface water, sediment and biota from the Olifants River Basin (ORB) (South Africa) and investigates the trophic transfer of THg by means of trophic magnification factors (TMFs) in the subtropical ORB food web. Although levels in surface water, sediment and invertebrates were low, elevated levels of THg were measured in fish species of higher trophic levels (0.10–6.1 μg/g dw). This finding supports the biomagnificative character of mercury. THg concentrations in fish from the present study were find to be higher than most values reported in fish from other African aquatic ecosystems and comparable or lower compared to more industrialized regions. Fish length, trophic level, sediment THg levels and TOC in sediment were determining factors for THg levels in fish tissue. Concentrations were found to be higher in larger (and older) fish. Mercury has a high affinity for organic matter and will bind with the TOC in sediment, thus reducing the bioavailability of THg for aquatic biota which is reflected in the significant negative correlation between THg and TOC in sediment. A significant positive relationship between relative trophic level and THg concentrations was observed and also TMFs indicate biomagnification in the ORB food web. However, the trend of lower TMFs in tropical areas compared to temperate and arctic regions was not supported by the results. The consumption of fish from higher trophic levels at the average South African consumption rate is expected to pose a significant health risk Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic North-West University, South Africa: Boloka (NWU-IR) Arctic Chemosphere 216 832 843 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
North-West University, South Africa: Boloka (NWU-IR) |
op_collection_id |
ftnorthwestuniv |
language |
English |
topic |
Total mercury Bioaccumulation Trophic magnification factors Subtropical Olifants River Basin |
spellingShingle |
Total mercury Bioaccumulation Trophic magnification factors Subtropical Olifants River Basin Verhaert, Vera Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Teuchies, Johannes Addo-Bediako, Abraham Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa |
topic_facet |
Total mercury Bioaccumulation Trophic magnification factors Subtropical Olifants River Basin |
description |
The present study describes total mercury (THg) levels in surface water, sediment and biota from the Olifants River Basin (ORB) (South Africa) and investigates the trophic transfer of THg by means of trophic magnification factors (TMFs) in the subtropical ORB food web. Although levels in surface water, sediment and invertebrates were low, elevated levels of THg were measured in fish species of higher trophic levels (0.10–6.1 μg/g dw). This finding supports the biomagnificative character of mercury. THg concentrations in fish from the present study were find to be higher than most values reported in fish from other African aquatic ecosystems and comparable or lower compared to more industrialized regions. Fish length, trophic level, sediment THg levels and TOC in sediment were determining factors for THg levels in fish tissue. Concentrations were found to be higher in larger (and older) fish. Mercury has a high affinity for organic matter and will bind with the TOC in sediment, thus reducing the bioavailability of THg for aquatic biota which is reflected in the significant negative correlation between THg and TOC in sediment. A significant positive relationship between relative trophic level and THg concentrations was observed and also TMFs indicate biomagnification in the ORB food web. However, the trend of lower TMFs in tropical areas compared to temperate and arctic regions was not supported by the results. The consumption of fish from higher trophic levels at the average South African consumption rate is expected to pose a significant health risk |
author2 |
12579769 - Wepener, Victor |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Verhaert, Vera Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Teuchies, Johannes Addo-Bediako, Abraham |
author_facet |
Verhaert, Vera Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Teuchies, Johannes Addo-Bediako, Abraham |
author_sort |
Verhaert, Vera |
title |
Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa |
title_short |
Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa |
title_full |
Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa |
title_fullStr |
Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa |
title_sort |
bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical olifants river basin, south africa |
publisher |
Elsevier |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31694 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653518320861 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_relation |
Verhaert, V. et al. 2019. Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa. Chemosphere, 216:832-843. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211] 0045-6535 http://hdl.handle.net/10394/31694 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653518320861 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.10.211 |
container_title |
Chemosphere |
container_volume |
216 |
container_start_page |
832 |
op_container_end_page |
843 |
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1766341519980101632 |