Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa
Abstract: 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 s...
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10067/1545980151162165141 https://repository.uantwerpen.be/docman/irua/202493/154598_2020_10_31.pdf |
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ftunivantwerpen:c:irua:154598 2024-09-30T14:31:34+00:00 Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa Verhaert, Vera Teuchies, Johannes Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Addo-Bediako, Abraham Jooste, Antoinette Blust, Ronny Bervoets, Lieven 2019 pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10067/1545980151162165141 https://repository.uantwerpen.be/docman/irua/202493/154598_2020_10_31.pdf eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/J.CHEMOSPHERE.2018.10.211 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/isi/000451494600090 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess 0045-6535 Chemosphere Chemistry Biology info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2019 ftunivantwerpen https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CHEMOSPHERE.2018.10.211 2024-09-10T04:06:38Z Abstract: 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 (0.106.1 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 IRUA - Institutional Repository van de Universiteit Antwerpen Arctic Chemosphere 216 832 843 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
IRUA - Institutional Repository van de Universiteit Antwerpen |
op_collection_id |
ftunivantwerpen |
language |
English |
topic |
Chemistry Biology |
spellingShingle |
Chemistry Biology Verhaert, Vera Teuchies, Johannes Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Addo-Bediako, Abraham Jooste, Antoinette Blust, Ronny Bervoets, Lieven Bioaccumulation and trophic transfer of total mercury in the subtropical Olifants River Basin, South Africa |
topic_facet |
Chemistry Biology |
description |
Abstract: 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 (0.106.1 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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Verhaert, Vera Teuchies, Johannes Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Addo-Bediako, Abraham Jooste, Antoinette Blust, Ronny Bervoets, Lieven |
author_facet |
Verhaert, Vera Teuchies, Johannes Vlok, Wynand Wepener, Victor Addo-Bediako, Abraham Jooste, Antoinette Blust, Ronny Bervoets, Lieven |
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 |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10067/1545980151162165141 https://repository.uantwerpen.be/docman/irua/202493/154598_2020_10_31.pdf |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
0045-6535 Chemosphere |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/J.CHEMOSPHERE.2018.10.211 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/isi/000451494600090 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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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1811636044287705088 |