A Bioenergetics-Based Model for Pollutant Accumulation by Fish. Simulation of PCB and Methylmercury Residue Levels in Ottawa River Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens)

Abstract

A pollutant accumulation model is developed which successfully predicts concentrations of PCBs and methylmercury in tissues of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from the Ottawa River, Canada. The model is based on pollutant biokinetics coupled to fish energetics. The expression for metabolic rate includes a growth dependent term for estimating the contribution to metabolism of seasonal and annual growth in each age-class. Uptake of pollutant from food is based on caloric requirements for respiration and growth coupled to concentration of pollutant in food and its assimilation efficiency from the diet. Uptake of pollutant from water is based on flow of water past the gills for respiration coupled with concentration of pollutant in water and the efficiency of its assimilation by gills. Pollutant clearance is related to body weight raised to the power of −.58, but is independent of metabolic rate. Under steady state conditions of chronic exposure, the predicted ratio of uptake to clearance is roughly constant at all weights, and the slope of a curve of log pollutant concentration in tissues vs. log body weight can be used to establish the exponent of body weight for clearance.

Mercury bioaccumulation and biomagnification in Ozark stream ecosystems

“…The mining-derived sulfates originating from Blue Spring may also affect methylation rates, as may stream temperature. The latter may also influence Hg concentrations in fish through effects on feeding and growth rates (e.g., Norstrom et al, 1976;Whitledge et al, 2006;Ward et al, 2009).…”

Total Mercury Content—Fish Weight Relationship in Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) Caught in the Southwest Atlantic Ocean

“…This relationship was theoretically obtained by Norstrom et al (1976) for methyl mercury bioaccumulation in "sh muscle. According to this model, the coe$cient b is directly related to the clearance order of the heavy metal, which measures the rate of mercury dilution or depletion by the species.…”

“…The proposed model is based on the fact that the clearance capacity of mercury is independent of the metabolism and the temperature of the habitat, and that the in#uence of the "sh weight on the clearance capacity is related to the "sh growth, which determines the dilution of the mercury present in the muscle. In addition, the capacity of incorporation of mercury in "sh through the diet is independent of the species (Norstrom et al, 1976), but obviously will depend on the amount of dietary mercury. Thus, the actual content of mercury in sword"sh depends on the mercury content of the diet and the size of the "sh.…”

Enhancement of Fish Bioaccumulation Models with Environmental Geoinformatics

“…The bioenergetics-based model, first proposed by Norstrom et al (1976), and subsequently refined by Luk and Brockway (1997), is used in this study to examine the bioaccumulation behavior of sport fish in lakes. The concept of bioenergetics is based on an estimation of the various energy requirements of fish, for normal swimming and foraging activities as well as growth.…”