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Concentration and Trophic Transfer of Copper, Selenium, and Zinc in Marine Species of the Chilean Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula Area

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Abstract

Patagonia and Antarctica are biodiverse regions in the Southern Hemisphere, but little is known about the levels of trace elements in marine organisms from these remote coastal ecosystems. In this study, selenium (Se), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), and stable isotopes of nitrogen (δ15N; relative trophic level) were measured in 36 marine species collected from two locations of the Chilean Patagonia and two locations of the Antarctic Peninsula area to determine whether biomagnification of these trace elements occurs in the food webs. Results indicated that Cu, Se, and Zn levels were slightly lower than those in similar species from elsewhere, and the highest metal levels were found in marine macroinvertebrates compared with fishes. There was evidence of Cu, Se, and Zn biomagnification but only within the lower-trophic-level organisms. When assessing whole food webs, levels of these elements typically decreased from macroinvertebrates to fishes or birds, suggesting lower risks of metal toxicity to higher-level consumers.

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Funding

The current study was supported by the Instituto Antártico Chileno (INACH) through project RG01-18 (J. Celis), the Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Desarrollo of the Universidad de Concepción through postdoc 219.153.026-P (W. Espejo) and by the Fondo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (FONDECYT) through project 1161504 (G. Chiang).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias, Universidad de Concepción, Av. Vicente Méndez 595, Chillán, Chile

    Winfred Espejo & José E. Celis

  2. Melimoyu Ecosystem Research Institute, Fundación MERI, 7650720, Santiago, Chile

    Winfred Espejo & Gustavo Chiang

  3. Radioisotopes Lab, Biophysics Institute, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Janeide de A. Padilha, Paulo Dorneles & Olaf Malm

  4. Department of Biology and School of Geography & Earth Sciences, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street W., Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Karen A. Kidd

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  1. Winfred Espejo
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  2. Janeide de A. Padilha
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  3. Karen A. Kidd
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  5. Olaf Malm
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  7. José E. Celis
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Correspondence to José E. Celis.

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Espejo, W., Padilha, J.d.A., Kidd, K.A. et al. Concentration and Trophic Transfer of Copper, Selenium, and Zinc in Marine Species of the Chilean Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula Area. Biol Trace Elem Res 197, 285–293 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01992-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-019-01992-0

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