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Biomagnification of mercury through the benthic food webs of a temperate estuary: Masan Bay, Korea
Author(s) -
Kim Eunhee,
Kim Hyunji,
Shin Kyunghoon,
Kim Minseob,
Kundu Sampa Rani,
Lee Byeonggweon,
Han Seunghee
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
environmental toxicology and chemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.1
H-Index - 171
eISSN - 1552-8618
pISSN - 0730-7268
DOI - 10.1002/etc.1809
Subject(s) - benthic zone , bay , pelagic zone , methylmercury , biomagnification , mercury (programming language) , food web , estuary , bioaccumulation , dry weight , environmental chemistry , temperate climate , environmental science , trophic level , oceanography , ecology , biology , chemistry , geology , botany , computer science , programming language
The authors examined food web magnification factors of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) for the benthic organisms in Masan Bay, a semiclosed, temperate estuary located on the southeastern coast of Korea. For benthic invertebrates, concentrations of THg and MeHg (%MeHg) ranged from 9.57 to 195 and 2.56 to 111 ng/g dry weight (12.2–85.6%), respectively. Benthic fish THg and MeHg (%MeHg) concentrations ranged widely from 10.8 to 618 and 2.90 to 529 ng/g dry weight (22.9–93.9%), respectively. The linear regression slopes of log [Hg] relative to δ 15 N (i.e., food web magnification factors) found for the Masan Bay benthic organisms were 0.119 for THg and 0.168 for MeHg. These values are similar to the food web magnification factors of benthic organisms and lower than those of pelagic organisms of various coastal marine environments. It suggests that pelagic organisms might be at greater risk of THg and MeHg accumulation than benthic biota. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:1254–1263. © 2012 SETAC