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Published on: August 29, 2014
Assessing correlations between monomethylmercury accumulation in fish and trophic states of artificial temperate
Seam Noh1, Chan-Kook Kim2, Younghee Kim3
1Division of Chemical Research, National Institute of Environmental Research (NIER), Incheon, Republic of Korea; School of Earth Sciences and Environmental Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
Abstract:
We investigated monomethylmercury (MMHg) concentrations in 448 samples of four common fish species (barbel steed, largemouth bass, leopard mandarin, and bluegill) and the trophic states of 14 artificial reservoirs in South Korea in order to understand how trophic states of reserviors affect MMHg concentrations in fish. The trophic state index (TSI) of each reservoir was determined using empirical equations based on the monthly chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, and Secchi depth, collected over a three-year period. The length-normalized MMHg concentrations in fish showed a negative correlation with the TSI based on chlorophyll-a (r2=0.90) and total phosphorus (r2=0.75) that may be a result of particle dilution of MMHg in surface waters. This study revealed that MMHg accumulation in fish was better correlated with TSI than MMHg in water, therefore, we suggest that the measurement of TSI based on chlorophyll-a and total phosphorus is an effective way to predict MMHg bioaccumulation across diverse reservoirs.
