Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Blvd. South, Fort Myers, FL, 33965, USA.
Arch Environ Contam Toxicol. 2018 Jul;75(1):121-133. doi: 10.1007/s00244-018-0523-0. Epub 2018 Apr 19.
Total mercury (Hg) and stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon were determined in the muscle tissue of 50 species of fishes and invertebrates collected at two sites along the Florida reef tract from April 2012 to December 2013. The objective was to test the hypothesis that high biodiversity in coral reefs leading to complex food webs with increased lateral links reduces biomagnification. However, Hg levels ranged as high 6.84 mg/kg. Interestingly, it was not highest in great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), considered the top predatory fish, but instead in small porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus), possibly due to their role as a cleaner fish. Trophic magnification slopes (TMS; from regression of log Hg on δN) as a measure of biomagnification did not differ between sites, ranging from 0.155 ± 0.04 (± 95% CI) to 0.201 ± 0.07. These TMS also were within the ranges of slopes reported for food webs in other ecosystems; thus, biomagnification of Hg in muscle tissue was not reduced in the system.
2012 年 4 月至 2013 年 12 月期间，在佛罗里达暗礁带的两个地点采集了 50 种鱼类和无脊椎动物的肌肉组织样本，以测定总汞（Hg）和氮、碳的稳定同位素。目的是验证这样一个假设，即珊瑚礁中较高的生物多样性导致复杂的食物网和增加的侧支联系，从而减少生物放大作用。然而，Hg 水平高达 6.84 毫克/千克。有趣的是，Hg 含量最高的不是被认为是顶级掠食性鱼类的梭鱼（Sphyraena barracuda），而是小型石首鱼（Anisotremus virginicus），这可能是因为它们扮演着清洁鱼的角色。作为生物放大的衡量标准，营养级放大斜率（TMS；从 log Hg 对 δN 的回归）在两个地点之间没有差异，范围从 0.155 ± 0.04（± 95%置信区间）到 0.201 ± 0.07。这些 TMS 也在其他生态系统中食物网的报告斜率范围内；因此，肌肉组织中 Hg 的生物放大作用并没有在该系统中降低。
