Shoals Marine Laboratory, School of Marine Sciences and Ocean Engineering, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA; Biodiversity Research Institute, 276 Canco Road, Portland, ME 04103, USA.
Biodiversity Research Institute, 276 Canco Road, Portland, ME 04103, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2019 Oct 15;687:956-966. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.159. Epub 2019 Jun 12.
We present data on a rapid assessment of fish Hg concentrations from 40 different waterbodies in 26 countries that includes data on 451 fish of 92 species. Significant differences in fish Hg concentrations were observed across fish foraging guilds and in general, higher trophic level fish (i.e., piscivores and carnivores) showed the highest mean total Hg (THg) concentrations. However, elevated THg concentrations observed in a lower trophic level, detrivorous species highlights the importance of understanding Hg concentrations across a wide range of trophic levels, and also characterizing site-specific processes that influence methylmercury (MeHg) bioavailability. A linear mixed effects model was used to evaluate the effects of length, trophic level, sampling location, and taxonomy on THg concentrations. A positive, significant relationship between THg in fish and fish size, trophic level, and latitude of the sampling site was observed. A comparison of Hg concentrations across all sites identifies biological mercury hotspots, as well as sites with reduced Hg concentrations relative to our overall sampling population mean Hg concentration. Results from this study highlight the value of rapid assessments on the availability of methylmercury in the environment using fish as bioindicators and the need for expanded biomonitoring efforts in understudied regions of the world. This study also provides insights for the future design and implementation of large-scale Hg biomonitoring efforts intended to evaluate the effectiveness of future Hg reduction strategies instituted by the Minamata Convention on Mercury.
我们提供了来自 26 个国家的 40 个不同水体的鱼类汞浓度快速评估数据，其中包括 92 种鱼类的 451 条鱼的数据。在不同鱼类觅食群体之间观察到鱼类汞浓度存在显著差异，一般来说，营养层次较高的鱼类（即肉食性鱼类和肉食性鱼类）表现出最高的总汞（THg）浓度。然而，在营养层次较低的碎屑食性物种中观察到的升高的 THg 浓度突出了在广泛的营养层次上理解汞浓度的重要性，并且还需要描述影响甲基汞（MeHg）生物利用度的特定地点的过程。我们使用线性混合效应模型来评估长度、营养层次、采样地点和分类对 THg 浓度的影响。观察到鱼类中的 THg 与鱼体大小、营养层次和采样地点的纬度之间呈正相关，且具有显著关系。对所有地点的汞浓度进行比较，确定了生物汞热点，以及与我们的总采样种群平均汞浓度相比汞浓度降低的地点。这项研究的结果强调了使用鱼类作为生物指标快速评估环境中甲基汞可用性的价值，以及在世界上研究不足的地区扩大生物监测工作的必要性。这项研究还为未来设计和实施旨在评估《水俣公约》实施的未来汞减排策略的有效性的大规模汞生物监测工作提供了见解。
