School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA.
New York State Center for Clean Water Technology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794, USA.
Sci Rep. 2021 Jan 8;11(1):218. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79973-w.
Over the last century anthropogenic activities have rapidly increased the influx of metals and metalloids entering the marine environment, which can bioaccumulate and biomagnify in marine top consumers. This may elicit sublethal effects on target organisms, having broad implications for human seafood consumers. We provide the first assessment of metal (Cd, Pb, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, As, Ag, and THg) and metalloid (As) concentrations in the muscle tissue of coastal sharks from The Bahamas. A total of 36 individual sharks from six species were evaluated, spanning two regions/study areas, with a focus on the Caribbean reef shark (Carcharhinus perezi), and to a lesser extent the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier). This is due their high relative abundance and ecological significance throughout coastal Bahamian and regional ecosystems. Caribbean reef sharks exhibited some of the highest metal concentrations compared to five other species, and peaks in the concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cu were observed as individuals reached sexual maturity. Observations were attributed to foraging on larger, more piscivorous prey, high longevity, as well a potential slowing rate of growth. We observed correlations between some metals, which are challenging to interpret but may be attributed to trophic level and ambient metal conditions. Our results provide the first account of metal concentrations in Bahamian sharks, suggesting individuals exhibit high concentrations which may potentially cause sublethal effects. Finally, these findings underscore the potential toxicity of shark meat and have significant implications for human consumers.
在上个世纪，人类活动迅速增加了进入海洋环境的金属和类金属的流入量，这些金属和类金属可以在海洋顶级消费者中生物积累和生物放大。这可能会对目标生物产生亚致死效应，对人类海鲜消费者产生广泛影响。我们首次评估了巴哈马沿海鲨鱼肌肉组织中的金属（Cd、Pb、Cr、Mn、Co、Cu、Zn、As、Ag 和总汞）和类金属（As）浓度。共评估了来自六个物种的 36 条鲨鱼个体，跨越两个地区/研究区域，重点是加勒比礁鲨（Carcharhinus perezi），其次是虎鲨（Galeocerdo cuvier）。这是因为它们在巴哈马沿海和区域生态系统中具有相对较高的丰富度和生态重要性。与其他五个物种相比，加勒比礁鲨表现出一些最高的金属浓度，并且在个体达到性成熟时观察到 Pb、Cr、Cu 的浓度峰值。这归因于捕食更大、更多的肉食性猎物、高寿命以及潜在的生长减缓率。我们观察到一些金属之间存在相关性，这些相关性难以解释，但可能归因于营养水平和环境金属条件。我们的研究结果首次报道了巴哈马鲨鱼的金属浓度，表明个体体内的金属浓度较高，可能会产生亚致死效应。最后，这些发现强调了鲨鱼肉的潜在毒性，并对人类消费者产生了重大影响。
