Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil.
Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
Mar Pollut Bull. 2021 Jul;168:112398. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112398. Epub 2021 Apr 24.
Contamination by metals is among the most pervasive anthropogenic threats to the environment. Despite the ecological importance of marine apex predators, the potential negative impacts of metal bioaccumulation and biomagnification on the health of higher trophic level species remains unclear. To date, most toxicology studies in sharks have focused on measuring metal concentrations in muscle tissues associating human consumption and food safety, without further investigating potential impacts on shark health. To help address this knowledge gap, the present study evaluated metal concentrations in the gills, muscle, liver and rectal gland of coastal sharks opportunistically sampled from Brazilian waters and tested for potential relationships between metal bioaccumulation and general shark health and homeostatic balance metrics. Results revealed high metal concentrations in all four tissue types, with levels varying in relation to size, sex, and life-stage. Metal concentrations were also associated with serum biomarkers (urea, lactate, ALT, triglycerides, alkaline phosphatase, and phosphorus) and body condition, suggesting potential negative impacts on organismal health.
金属污染是对环境造成最普遍的人为威胁之一。尽管海洋顶级捕食者具有重要的生态意义，但金属生物积累和生物放大对更高营养级物种健康的潜在负面影响仍不清楚。迄今为止，大多数鲨鱼的毒理学研究都集中在测量肌肉组织中的金属浓度，以评估与人类消费和食品安全相关的问题，而没有进一步调查金属积累对鲨鱼健康的潜在影响。为了帮助解决这一知识空白，本研究评估了在巴西水域偶然采集的沿海鲨鱼的鳃、肌肉、肝脏和直肠腺中的金属浓度，并测试了金属生物积累与鲨鱼健康和体内平衡的一般指标之间的潜在关系。结果表明，所有四种组织类型都含有高浓度的金属，其水平与大小、性别和生命阶段有关。金属浓度还与血清生物标志物（尿素、乳酸、ALT、甘油三酯、碱性磷酸酶和磷）和身体状况有关，这表明对机体健康可能存在潜在的负面影响。
