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An Ecologically Framed Mercury Survey of Finfish of the Lower Chesapeake Bay

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Abstract

Total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MHg) concentrations and determents of mercury (Hg) accumulation were examined for muscle tissues of 10 finfish from the lower Chesapeake Bay (LCB) and its tributaries. There was no suggestion of potential human harm from Hg due to LCB fish consumption: None of the sampled fish had THg concentrations approaching the United States Environmental Protection Agency human health screening value. Hg concentrations in different fish species generally increased with the increasing stable isotope of nitrogen 15 (δ15N) but not the stable isotope of carbon 13 (δ13C), thus suggesting that trophic position but not dietary carbon source is a dominant determinant. An MHg biomagnification model was built to estimate a food web magnification factor of approximately 10-fold increase per trophic level. Based on otolith strontium-to-calcium ratios, Atlantic croaker inhabiting less saline waters might accumulate more Hg than those inhabiting more saline waters. The SAS mixed procedure identified significant positive intraspecies relationships between MHg concentration and δ13C for summer flounder, weakfish, American eel, Atlantic croaker, and spot.

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Acknowledgments

Jochen Zubrod and Frank Seitz processed and analyzed THg for the first 160 fish samples. The following individuals from the VIMS Juvenile Fish Trawl Survey team contributed to the field sampling: H. Brooks, J. Greaney, A. Halvorson, W. Lowery, R. Norris, and T. Tuckey. Funding for the VIMS Juvenile Fish Trawl Survey was provided by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Funding for the analytical work was provided by the Virginia Sea Grant. This paper is Contribution No. 3280 of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, The College of William and Mary.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, PO Box 1346, Gloucester Point, VA, 23062, USA

    Xiaoyu Xu, Michael C. Newman & Mary C. Fabrizio

  2. Cebam Analytical, Inc., 18804 North Creek Parkway, Suite 110, Bothell, WA, 98011, USA

    Lian Liang

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  1. Xiaoyu Xu
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  2. Michael C. Newman
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Correspondence to Xiaoyu Xu.

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Xu, X., Newman, M.C., Fabrizio, M.C. et al. An Ecologically Framed Mercury Survey of Finfish of the Lower Chesapeake Bay. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 65, 510–520 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9917-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9917-1

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