Temporal and geographic trends in mercury concentrations in muscle tissue in five species of hudson river, USA, fish

Abstract

We analyzed a New York (USA) state database of mercury concentrations in muscle tissue for five species of fish (striped bass, yellow perch, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and carp) over a range of locations in the Hudson River (USA) between 1970 and 2004. We used regression models to discern temporal and geographic change in the fish while controlling for a positive correlation between mercury concentration and body mass. Mercury concentrations significantly increased in fish from New York Harbor waters to the mid-Hudson River. Striped bass and yellow perch showed a shallower increase in mercury concentration with river mile than did carp, largemouth bass, and smallmouth bass. Mercury concentrations declined over the 34-year period. These results imply that a geographically restricted source of mercury may be spread throughout the watershed by toxin-laden dispersing species. The increase of mercury toward the north may relate to a point source in the mid-Hudson River, or it may indicate mercury released from the Adirondack watershed. The decline of mercury over three decades corresponds to a reduction of various inputs in the region. The temporal and geographic pattern of mercury in sediments corresponds to the geographic trend of mercury in fish.

Organ‐specific accumulation, transportation, and elimination of methylmercury and inorganic mercury in a low Hg accumulating fish

“…The background concentrations of muscle MeHg in the rabbitfish were 5.7 ng/g to 11.0 ng/g wet weight in the present study, which was consistent with previous measurements of 0.5 ng to 30.4 ng MeHg/g wet muscle of the same fish species [10][11][12]. Remarkably, these concentrations in S. canaliculatus are much lower than those reported in the majority of other field-collected fish species [5][6][7]13]. Several mechanisms may account for the low concentration of Hg observed in the rabbitfish: unique biokinetics of Hg bioaccumulation, fast growth rate, and herbivorous feeding habit.…”

“…Mercury (Hg) is among the most hazardous metals to human and ecosystem health, and its risk has been recognized for decades [1][2][3]. Fish consumption is a major source of human Hg exposure, and considerable efforts have been made in the measurements of concentration and speciation of Hg in fish [4][5][6][7][8][9][10]. A wide range of Hg concentration is documented in different fish species, and notably very low Hg (0.5-34 ng/g wet tissue) is determined in certain species such as herbivorous rabbitfish [11][12].…”

Spatiotemporal trends of mercury in walleye and largemouth bass from the Laurentian Great Lakes Region

“…Over the same period in Minnesota (1982Minnesota ( -2006, the overall trend in walleye and northern pike (Esox lucius) was the same as northern Wisconsin, but a better fitting piecewise linear regression model indicated a steeper decline of 4.7% per year from 1982 to 1992, followed by an increase of 1.4% per year for 1992-2006 (Monson 2009). A similar downward overall trend of 0.5-1% per year has been observed in five fish species from the Hudson River, New York between 1970 and 2004 (Levinton and Pochron 2008) and in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from New York lakes (Simonin et al 2009). In the Great Lakes, Hg in lake trout (Salvelinus namayush) has generally declined over the last 30 years; however, recent trends in walleye have been flat in Lake Ontario and increasing in Lake Erie .…”

Biodynamic understanding of mercury accumulation in marine and freshwater fish

“…Numerous studies have been conducted on Hg bioaccumulation in fish, and in particular on Hg concentrations in fish tissues and their links with trophic position (e.g., Magalhaes et al 2007, Levinton and Pochron 2008, Rypel et al 2008. Mechanistic studies of Hg bioaccumulation such as trophic transfer, subcellular controls, and dietary exposure are relatively rare however.…”