Mercury levels in Southern Ocean squid: Variability over the last decade.

Mercury levels in Southern Ocean squid: Variability over the last decade. Chemosphere. 2020 Jan;239:124785 Authors: Seco J, Xavier JC, Brierley AS, Bustamante P, Coelho JP, Gregory S, Fielding S, Pardal MA, Pereira B, Stowasser G, Tarling GA, Pereira E Abstract The concentrations of total and proportions of organic mercury were measured in tissues of 355 individuals of 8 species of Southern Ocean squid (Alluroteuthis antarcticus, Bathyteuthis abyssicola, Filippovia knipovitchi, Galiteuthis glacialis, Gonatus antarcticus, Kondakovia longimana, Psychroteuthis glacialis and Slosarczykovia circumantarctica). Squid were caught around South Georgia (Scotia Sea) during 5 cruises, between the austral summers of 2006/07 to 2016/17 to evaluate temporal changes in bioaccumulation and tissue partitioning. Total mercury concentrations varied between 4 ng g-1 and 804 ng g-1 among all tissues. Net accumulation of mercury in muscle with size was observed in A. antarcticus, B. abyssicola and P. glacialis, but no relationship was found for S. circumantarctica and lower concentrations were observed in larger individuals of G. glacialis. Muscle tissues had the highest mercury concentrations in the majority of species, except for F. knipovitchi for which the digestive gland contained highest concentrations. In terms of the percentage of organic mercury in the tissues, muscle always contained the highest values (67%-97%), followed by the dige...
Source: Chemosphere - Category: Chemistry Authors: Tags: Chemosphere Source Type: research