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Mercury Distribution Along the Food Chain of a Wetland Ecosystem at Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

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Abstract

Concentrations of total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in a wetland food chain were determined at Majuan Island of the Sanjiang Plain in China. Four tissues (muscle, liver, kidney and brain) of three waterbird species (great cormorant, grey heron and great egret), muscle tissues of fish (grass carp, crucian carp and longnose gudgeon), insects (predacious diving beetle), aquatic plants (ditch reed) and soil were analyzed. The mean concentrations of T-Hg were 0.392 ± 0.237 mg/kg for tissues of all juveniles, 1.999 ± 2.053 mg/kg for great cormorant adults, and 0.029 ± 0.019 mg/kg for fish muscle, respectively. While the relative contents of T-Hg of insects, plants and sediments were 0.012 ± 0.002, 0.006 ± 0.001 and 0.020 ± 0.002 mg/kg, respectively. Bioaccumulation of Hg along the wetland food chain may be able to show the current situation of Hg contamination in remote regions of East Asia.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (31400471, 41471081) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2572014EA07-02).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Wildlife Resource, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, Heilongjiang, 150040, China

    Ma Zhilong & Zhou Xuehong

  2. Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Environment, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, 130000, China

    Wang Qiang & Zhang Zhongsheng

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  1. Ma Zhilong
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  2. Wang Qiang
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  3. Zhang Zhongsheng
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  4. Zhou Xuehong
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Correspondence to Zhou Xuehong.

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Zhilong, M., Qiang, W., Zhongsheng, Z. et al. Mercury Distribution Along the Food Chain of a Wetland Ecosystem at Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 98, 162–166 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-2005-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-016-2005-2

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