Influence of life history variation and habitat on mercury bioaccumulation in a high-order predatory fish in tropical Australia.

Autor: Butler ECV; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Arafura Timor Research Facility, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia. Electronic address: edwardcvbutler@gmail.com., Harries SJ; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Arafura Timor Research Facility, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia., McAllister KA; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Arafura Timor Research Facility, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia., Windsor JO; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Arafura Timor Research Facility, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia., Logan M; Australian Institute of Marine Science, Townsville, Queensland, Australia., Crook DA; Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia; Department of Primary Industries, Narrandera Fisheries Centre, Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia., Roberts BH; Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Casuarina, Northern Territory, Australia., Grubert MA; Fisheries Division, Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Berrimah, Northern Territory, Australia., Saunders TM; Fisheries Division, Department of Industry, Tourism and Trade, Berrimah, Northern Territory, Australia.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Environmental research [Environ Res] 2022 Sep; Vol. 212 (Pt A), pp. 113152. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Mar 25.
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113152
Abstrakt: Mercury distribution and bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems of tropical Australia is poorly characterised. Barramundi (Lates calcarifer), a widespread high-order predator in both fresh and coastal marine waters of the region, fulfils requirements for a bio-indicator of mercury contamination. In a study of the Mary River system of the Northern Territory, total mercury in the muscle tissue of 300 specimens gathered over four years (2013-2017, across both wet and dry seasons) was determined by direct combustion-atomic absorption spectrometry. Source of nutrition and trophic position of barramundi in the food web was also estimated via carbon and nitrogen isotopes (δ 13 C and δ 15 N), respectively, in tissue by stable isotope mass spectrometry, and determination of strontium isotopes ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) in otoliths by laser ablation-ICPMS differentiated between freshwater and saltwater residence. Results showed that fish moving into freshwater floodplain wetlands concentrated mercury in muscle tissue at approximately twice the level of those that remained in saline habitats. Resolving life histories through otolith analyses demonstrated diversity in mercury bioaccumulation for individual fish of the same migratory contingent on the floodplains. Although trophic level (δ 15 N), capture location, source of nutrition (δ 13 C), and age or size partly predicted mercury concentrations in barramundi, our results suggest that individual variability in diets, migration patterns and potentially metabolism are also influential. Using a migratory fish as a bio-indicator, and tracking its life history and use of resources, proved valuable as a tool to discern hot spots in a coastal waterway for a contaminant, such as mercury.
(Crown Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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