Rolfhus Kristofer R, Sandheinrich Mark B, Wiener James G, Bailey Sean W, Thoreson Kristen A, Hammerschmidt Chad R
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, River Studies Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin 54601, USA.
Environ Sci Technol. 2008 Feb 1;42(3):871-7. doi: 10.1021/es071427+.
Monitoring of mercury in fish typically involves removal of individuals from the sampled population and subsequent analysis of fillets. This study assessed whether the analysis of fins, structures routinely clipped to mark released fish in population studies, could provide a nonlethal approach for estimating mercury concentrations in axial muscle (fillets). We analyzed fillets and selected fins from 401 northern pike (Esox lucius) and 79 walleye (Sander vitreus) from 21 lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin, 19 Arctic grayling (Thymallus arcticus) from Toolik Lake, Alaska, and 14 winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) from Long Island Sound, New York. On average, 83% of mercury in fins was methylmercury, and concentrations in the proximal portion were about half-those in the distal portion in pelvic fins. Mean concentrations of mercury in fins, averaged by species and fin type, ranged from 2.7 to 8.9% of those in fillets. Coefficients of determination (r2) for linear regressions of mercury concentrations in fillets against those in fins of individual fish ranged from 0.04 to 0.96 among species and water bodies (median r2 = 0.52). The concentration in fin clips was a better predictor of mercury in fillets for individual Arctic grayling (r2 = 0.65, n = 12 and r2 = 0.84, n = 8) and winter flounder (r2 = 0.94, n = 14) than for individual northern pike (median r2 = 0.56) or walleye (median r2 = 0.22) from a given lake. In northern pike in the 400-500 mm total-length interval, the mean concentrations of total mercury in caudal fins and fillets, averaged by lake (n = 12), were strongly correlated (r2 = 0.95). The analysis of composited samples of fin clips from fish within a restricted length interval could, therefore, be a useful screening tool for assessing the relative mercury contamination of fish among different water bodies.
对鱼类汞含量的监测通常包括从抽样群体中捞出个体，随后对鱼片进行分析。本研究评估了在种群研究中用于标记放流鱼类的常规剪下的鳍片分析，是否能提供一种非致死性方法来估算轴肌（鱼片）中的汞浓度。我们分析了来自明尼苏达州和威斯康星州21个湖泊的401条白斑狗鱼（Esox lucius）和79条大眼狮鲈（Sander vitreus）、阿拉斯加图利克湖的19条北极茴鱼（Thymallus arcticus）以及纽约长岛湾的14条美洲黄盖鲽（Pseudopleuronectes americanus）的鱼片和选定的鳍片。平均而言，鳍片中83%的汞为甲基汞，臀鳍近端部分的汞浓度约为远端部分的一半。按物种和鳍片类型平均后，鳍片中汞的平均浓度为鱼片中汞浓度的2.7%至8.9%。在不同物种和水体中，个体鱼的鱼片汞浓度与鳍片汞浓度的线性回归决定系数（r2）范围为0.04至0.96（中位数r2 = 0.52）。对于来自给定湖泊的个体北极茴鱼（r2 = 0.65，n = 12和r2 = 0.84，n = 8）和美洲黄盖鲽（r2 = 0.94，n = 14），鳍片剪样中的汞浓度比个体白斑狗鱼（中位数r2 = 0.56）或大眼狮鲈（中位数r2 = 0.22）的鱼片汞浓度是更好的预测指标。在全长400 - 500毫米区间的白斑狗鱼中，按湖泊平均（n = 12），尾鳍和鱼片中总汞的平均浓度高度相关（r2 = 0.95）。因此，对有限长度区间内鱼类鳍片剪样的复合样本进行分析，可能是评估不同水体中鱼类相对汞污染的有用筛选工具。
