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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 (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
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Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

  • Anders Ruus
  • Ida Beathe Øverjordet
  • Hans Fredrik Veiteberg Braaten
  • Anita Evenset
  • Guttorm N. Christensen
  • Eldbjørg Sofie Heimstad
  • Geir W. Gabrielsen
  • Katrine Borgå

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Ocean / Climate and Environment
  • University of Oslo
  • UiT The Arctic University of Norway
  • Norwegian University of Science and Technology
  • Akvaplan-niva AS
  • NILU
  • Norwegian Institute of Water Research
  • Norwegian Polar Institute

Year

2015

Published in

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

ISSN

0730-7268

Volume

34

Issue

11

Page(s)

2636 - 2643

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository