Department of Biology, Texas State University, Aquatic Station, San Marcos, TX, 78666, USA.
Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 202, Taiwan.
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2023 Aug 11;111(2):23. doi: 10.1007/s00128-023-03787-5.
Mercury (Hg) is known to be maternally transferred during embryonic development in sharks; however, Hg concentrations in embryos of filter feeding shark species have not previously been reported. This study measured the total Hg (THg) concentration in muscle tissue of 27 embryos taken from a pregnant whale shark (Rhincodon typus) landed in Taiwan in 1995 and the mean THg concentration compared to the mean muscle THg concentration in embryos from other shark species. The mean (± standard deviation) THg concentration in whale shark embryos was 0.0762 ± 0.0163 µg/g dry weight (0.0224 ± 0.0054 µg/g wet weight). There was no relationship between muscle THg concentration and body length and no significant difference in THg concentration between male and female embryos (p > 0.05). Whale shark embryos have the lowest reported muscle THg concentrations compared to literature values for muscle THg concentrations for embryos from other shark species.
汞（Hg）已知在鲨鱼胚胎发育过程中通过母体传递；然而，滤食性鲨鱼物种胚胎中的汞浓度以前尚未报道过。本研究测量了 1995 年在台湾上岸的怀孕鲸鲨（Rhincodon typus）的 27 个胚胎肌肉组织中的总汞（THg）浓度，并将其与其他鲨鱼物种胚胎的肌肉 THg 浓度平均值进行了比较。鲸鲨胚胎的平均（±标准差）THg 浓度为 0.0762 ± 0.0163 µg/g 干重（0.0224 ± 0.0054 µg/g 湿重）。肌肉 THg 浓度与体长之间没有关系，雄性和雌性胚胎的 THg 浓度也没有显著差异（p > 0.05）。与其他鲨鱼物种胚胎的肌肉 THg 浓度文献值相比，鲸鲨胚胎的肌肉 THg 浓度最低。
