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Li Z, Pethybridge HR, Gong Y, Wu F, Dai X, Li Y. Effect of body size, feeding ecology and maternal transfer on mercury accumulation of vulnerable silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis in the eastern tropical pacific. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 309:119751. [PMID: 35835271 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The silky shark Carcharhinus falciformis is a large pelagic species distributed in the global oceans and was recently listed as "Vulnerable" by the IUCN because of its decline in population due to overfishing. As an apex predator, the silky shark can accumulate elevated quantities of mercury (Hg), posing a potential risk to its remaining population. In this study, total Hg (THg) concentrations were determined in silky shark muscle, liver, dermis, red blood cells (RBC) and plasma sampled from the eastern tropical Pacific, and δ15N values were measured to explore the influence of feeding ecology on Hg accumulation. The highest THg concentrations were in muscle (7.81 ± 6.70 μg g-1 dry weight (dw) or 2.14 ± 1.83 μg g-1 wet weight (ww)) and liver (7.88 ± 10.22 μg g-1 dw or 4.66 ± 6.04 μg g-1 ww) rather than dermis, RBC and plasma. The THg concentrations in all tissue types were significantly correlated with fork length and showed faster accumulation rates after maturity. Maternal THg transfer was observed in silky sharks with embryos having 33.16% and 1.98% in muscle and liver compared with their respective mothers. The potentially harmful THg concentrations in silky shark tissues and embryos may lead to health problems of sharks and consumers. THg concentrations were negatively correlated with δ15N values for all tissues, indicating likely baseline variations in δ15N values that reflect changes in the foraging habitats or regions of silky sharks with size or age. Lastly, strong correlations were observed among THg concentrations of all tissue types, indicating that nonlethal sampling of muscle and dermis tissue can be used effectively to quantify THg concentration of other internal tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zezheng Li
- College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China
| | - Heidi R Pethybridge
- Oceans and Atmosphere, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Yi Gong
- College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Sustainable Exploitation of Oceanic Fisheries Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; National Engineering Research Centre for Oceanic Fisheries, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Oceanic Fisheries Exploration, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China.
| | - Feng Wu
- College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Sustainable Exploitation of Oceanic Fisheries Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; National Engineering Research Centre for Oceanic Fisheries, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Oceanic Fisheries Exploration, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaojie Dai
- College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Sustainable Exploitation of Oceanic Fisheries Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; National Engineering Research Centre for Oceanic Fisheries, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Oceanic Fisheries Exploration, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China
| | - Yunkai Li
- College of Marine Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Sustainable Exploitation of Oceanic Fisheries Resources, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China; National Engineering Research Centre for Oceanic Fisheries, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China; Key Laboratory of Oceanic Fisheries Exploration, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Shanghai, China.
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