Laboratório de Ciências Ambientais, CBB, Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense, Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ 28013-620, Brazil.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2012 Feb;62(2):264-71. doi: 10.1007/s00244-011-9701-z. Epub 2011 Aug 23.
The present study raised the hypothesis that the trophic status in a tropical coastal food web from southeastern Brazil can be measured by the relation between total mercury (THg) and nitrogen isotope (δ(15)N) in their components. The analysed species were grouped into six trophic positions: primary producer (phytoplankton), primary consumer (zooplankton), consumer 1 (omnivore shrimp), consumer 2 (pelagic carnivores represented by squid and fish species), consumer 3 (demersal carnivores represented by fish species) and consumer 4 (pelagic-demersal top carnivore represented by the fish Trichiurus lepturus). The values of THg, δ(15)N, and trophic level (TLv) increased significantly from primary producer toward top carnivore. Our data regarding trophic magnification (6.84) and biomagnification powers (0.25 for δ(15)N and 0.83 for TLv) indicated that Hg biomagnification throughout trophic positions is high in this tropical food web, which could be primarily related to the quality of the local water.
本研究提出了一个假设，即通过测定巴西东南部热带沿海食物网中各成分的总汞（THg）和氮同位素（δ(15)N）的关系，可以衡量其营养状态。分析的物种分为六个营养级：初级生产者（浮游植物）、初级消费者（浮游动物）、消费者 1（杂食性虾）、消费者 2（以鱿鱼和鱼类为代表的远洋肉食动物）、消费者 3（以鱼类为代表的底栖肉食动物）和消费者 4（以鱼类 Trichiurus lepturus 为代表的远洋-底栖顶级肉食动物）。THg、δ(15)N 和营养级（TLv）的值从初级生产者向顶级肉食动物显著增加。我们关于营养放大（6.84）和生物放大能力（δ(15)N 为 0.25，TLv 为 0.83）的数据表明，在这个热带食物网中，Hg 通过营养级的生物放大作用很高，这主要与当地水质有关。
