Skip to main content
Log in

Mercury, selenium, and fatty acids in the axial muscle of largemouth bass: evaluating the influence of seasonal and sexual changes in fish condition and reproductive status

  • Published:
Ecotoxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Largemouth bass (LMB, 265–475 mm) were collected to document whether changes in fish condition and reproductive status influenced the concentration of total mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) in axial muscle by season and sex. The fatty acid (FA) composition of fish was also examined to describe seasonal and sexual differences and identify whether arachidonic acid (ARA) could be used as a biomarker of Hg toxicity. There was a trend for females to have lower (p < 0.062) Se concentrations than males. The concentration of Se for females during spring (mean ± SD, 686 ± 51 ng/g dw) was 15% lower than males (806 ± 67 ng/g dw). Lower Se concentrations in females than males continued through summer and fall. Concentration of Hg for females during spring (152 ± 39 ng/g ww) was also 59% lower than males (373 ± 303 ng/g ww), but the difference was not significant (p > 0.2). The percent of lipids was greatest in fall and winter (3%) and comprised primarily of omega-3 fatty acids (35 g/100 g lipid). Fish condition as measured by percent lipids and relative weight was negatively (p < 0.02) related to Hg concentration for females and males. Lipid content for both sexes was also positively (p < 0.05) related to the Se:Hg ratio. Relative weight was positively related to the Se:Hg ratio for females during all seasons (p = 0.014), but only during spring and summer for males (p < 0.007). A low Se:Hg value was associated with an elevation in ARA for both sexes and a reduced hepatosomatic index in males. Data suggested that females transferred muscle stores of Se and Hg to developing oocytes during spring. This study generates hypotheses regarding the physiological drivers of seasonal and sexual variability in Hg, Se, and FA in LMB that may be applicable to other species and have implications for fisheries health and management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

Data are available by contacting the corresponding author.

References

  • Acha D, Hintelmann H, Pabon CA (2012) Sulfate–reducing bacteria and mercury methylation in the water column of the lake 658 of the experimental lake area. J Geomicrobiol 29(7):667–674. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490451.2011.606289

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Agius C, Robert RJ (2003) Melano–macrophage centres and their role in fish pathology. J Fish Dis 26:499–509

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ackerman JT, Marvin–DiPasquale M, Slotton D, Eagle–Smith CA, Herzog MP, Hartman CA, Agee JL, Ayers S (2013) The South Bay Mercury Project–Using biosentinals to monitor effects of wetlands restoration for the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project- US Geological Survey Report prepared for the Restoration Project and Resources Legacy Fund, 227 p

  • ATSDR (1999) Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Toxicological profile for Mercury. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Atlanta, GA

    Google Scholar 

  • AOCS (1998) American Oil Chemical Society (AOCS) Official Method Official Method Ce 1b–89. Fatty Acid Composition by GLC, Marine Oils. AOCS Champaign, IL, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Balk L, Hylland K, Hansson T, Berntssen MHG, Beyer J, Jonsson G, Melbye A, Grung M, Torstensen BE, Borseth JF, Skarphedinsdottir H, Klungsoyr J (2011) Biomarkers in Natural Fish Populations Indicate Adverse Biological Effects of Offshore Oil Production. PLoS ONE 6(5):e19735. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0019735

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bell JG, Sargent JR (2003) Arachidonic acid in aquaculture feeds: current status and future opportunities. Aquaculture 218:491–499

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom NS (1992) On the chemical form of mercury in edible fish and marine invertebrate tissue. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 49:1010–1017

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bratten HFV, Fjeld E, Rognerud S, Lund E, Larssen T (2014) Seasonal and year–to–year variation of mercury concentration in perch (Perca fluviatilis) in Boreal lakes. Environ Tox Chem 33:2661–2670

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brett MT, Muller-Navarra D (1997) The role of highly unsaturated fatty acids in aquatic foodweb processes. Freshwater Biol 38:483–499

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brockman JD, Robertson JD, Morris JS, Ralston C, Raymond L, Ralston N (2008) Nail as a biomarker of selenium and methylmercury in a rat model. J Radioanalytical Nuclear Chem 276(1):59–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burger J, Gochfeld M (2013) Selenium and mercury molar ratios in commercial fish from New Jersey and Illinois: Variation within species and relevance to risk communication. Food Chem Toxicol 57:235–45

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bridges KN, Furin CG, Gerlach RF (2020) Subsistence fish consumption in rural Alaska: using regional monitoring data to evaluate risk and bioavailability of dietary methylmercury. Sci Total Environ 736:139676

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burger J, Gochfeld M, Jeitner C, Donio M, Pittfield T (2012) Selenium: mercury molar ratios in freshwater fish from Tennessee: individual, species, and geographical variations have implications for management. Ecohealth 9(2):171–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bodaly RA, Rudd JWM, Fudge RJP, Kelly CA (1993) Mercury concentrations in fish related to size of remote Canadian Shield lakes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 50(5):980–987

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cabana G, Rasmussen J (1994) Modelling food chain structure and contaminant bioaccumulation using stable nitrogen isotopes. Nature 372:255–257

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carioni VMO, Brockman JD, Morris MC, Ngwenyama RA, Schell LA, Spate VL, Crane S (2018) Instrumental neutron activation analysis, a technique for measurement of Se, Hg, Fe, Zn, K, Mn, Br, and the Hg:Se ratio in brain tissue samples with results from the Memory and Aging Project (MAP). J Radioanal Nucl Chem 318:43–48

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Charette T, Rosabal M, Amyot M (2021) Mapping metal (Hg, As, Se), lipid and protein levels within fish muscular system in two fish species (Striped Bass and Northern Pike). Chemosphere 265: 129036

  • Chen CC, Amirbahman A, Fisher N, Harding G, Lamborg C, Nacci D, Taylor D (2008) Methylmercury in marine ecosystems: spatial patterns and processes of production, bioaccumulation, and biomagnification. EcoHealth 5:399–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen CY, Borsunk ME, Bugge DM, Hollweg T, Balcom PH, Ward DM, Williams J, Mason RP (2014) Benthic and pelagic pathways of methylmercury bioaccumulation in estuarine food webs of the northeast United States. PloS One 9(2):e89305. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089305

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cizdziet JV, Hinners TA, Pollard JE, Heithmar EM, Cross CL (2002) Mercury concentrations in fish from Lake Mead, USA, related to fish condition, trophic level, location, and consumption risk. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 43:309–317

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Choi AL, Budtz–Jorgensen E, Jorgensen PJ, Salonen JT, Tuomainen T, Murata K, Nielsen HP, Petersen MS, Askham J, Grandjean P (2009) Methylmercury exposure and adverse cardiovascular effects in Faroese whaling men. Environ Health Perspect 117: 367−372

  • Clarke A, Johnston NM (1999) Scaling of metabolic rate with body mass and temperature in teleost fish. J Animal Ecol 68:893–905

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clayden MG, Kidd KA, Wyn B, Kirk JL, Muir DCG, O’Driscoll NJ (2013) Mercury biomagnification through food webs is affected by physical and chemical characteristics of lakes. Environ Sci Technol 47:12047–12053

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cooke SJ, McKinley RS, Philipp DP (2001) Physical activity and behavior of a centrarchid fish, Micropterus salmoides (Lacépède), during spawning. Ecol Freshwater Fish 10:227–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daviglus M, Sheeshka J, Murkin E (2002) Health benefits from eating fish. PubMed Comments Toxicol 8(4–6):345–374

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis JT, Lock JT (1997) Largemouth Bass: Biology and Life History. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center. SRAC Publication No 200

  • Day NK, Schmidt TS, Roberts JJ, Osmundson BC, Willacker JJ, Eagles–Smith CA (2020) Mercury and selenium concentrations in fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin, southwestern United States: A retrospective assessment. PlosOne. PLoS ONE 15(1):e0226824. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226824

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DHSS (2020) 2020 Missouri Fish Advisory: A Guide to Eating Missouri Fish. Accessed 06 Aug 2020. https://health.mo.gov/living/environment/fishadvisory/

  • Freire C, Ramos R, Lopez–Expinosa M, Diez S, Vioque J, Ballester F, Fernandez M (2010) Hair mercury levels, fish consumption, and cognitive development in preschool children from Granada, Spain. Environ Res 110:96–104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhrmann BC, Beutel MW, O’Day PA, Tran C, Funk A, Brower S, Pasek J, Seelos M (2021) Effects of mercury, organic carbon, and microbial inhibition on methylmercury cycling at the profundal sediment–water interface of a sulfate–rich hypereutrophic reservoir. Environ Pollut. 268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115853

  • Fujibayashi M, Okano K, Takada Y, Mizutani H, Uchida N, Nishimura O, Miyata N (2018) Transfer of cyanobacterial carbon to a higher trophic–level fish community in a eutrophic lake food web: fatty acid and stable isotope analyses. Oecologia 188:901–912

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerson JR, Walter DM, Eagles–Smith CA, Bernhardt ES, Brandt JE (2020) Do two wrongs make a right? Persistent uncertaninties regarding environmental selenium–mercury interactions. Environ Sci technol 54:9228–9234

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gergel SE, Turner MG, Kratz TK (1999) Dissolved organic carbon as an indicator of the scale of watershed influence on lakes and rivers. Ecol Appl 9:1377–1390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gochfeld M, Burger J (2021) Mercury interactions with selenium and sulphur and the relevance of the Se:Hg molar ratio to fish consumption advice. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:18407–18420

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield BK, Hrabik TR, Harvey CJ, Carbenter SR (2001) Predicting mercury levels in yellow perch: use of water chemistry, trophic ecology, and spatial traits. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 58:1419–1429

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman JN, Grosz AE, Schweitzer PN, Schruben PG (2008) The National Geochemical Survey—Database and Documentation by The United States Geological Survey. U.S. Geological Survey Open–File Report 2004–1001. The National Geochemical Survey—Geochemical Mapping of the United States (usgs.gov)

  • Guardiola FA, Chaves–Pozo E, Espinosa C, Romero D, Meseguer J, Cuesta A, Estaban MA (2016) Mercury accumulation, structural damages, and antioxidant and immune status changes in the Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 70:734–746

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hammerschmit CR, Wiener JG, Frazier BE, Rada RG (1999) Methylmercury content of eggs in yellow perch related to maternal exposure in four Wisconsin lakes. Environ Sci Technol 33:999–1003. https://doi.org/10.1021/es980948h

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hazel JR (1984) Effects of temperature on the structure and metabolism of cell membranes in fish. Am J Physiol 246: R460−70

  • Henderson RJ, Tocher D (1987) The lipid composition and biochemistry of freshwater fish. Prog Lipid Res26(4):281–347

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hightower JM, Moore D (2003) Mercury levels in high–end consumers of fish. PubMed Environ Health Perspect 111:604–608

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hinck JE, Blazer VS, Schmitt CJ, Papoulias DM, Tillitt DE (2009) Widespread occurrence of intersex in black basses (Micropterus spp.) from U.S. rivers, 1995–2004. USGS Staff—Published Research. 544

  • Janz DM, DeForest DK, Brooks ML, Chapman PM, Gilron G, Hoff D, Hopkins WA, McIntyre DO, Mebane CA, Palace VP, Skorupa JP, Wayland M (2010) Selenium toxicity to aquatic organisms. In: Chapman PM, Adams WJ, Brooks ML, Delos CG, Luoma SN, Maher WA, Ohlendorf HM, Presser TS, Shaw DP (Eds). Ecological Assessment of Selenium in the Aquatic Environment. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Pensacola, Florida, p 139–230

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings MJ, Claussen JE, Philipp DP (1997) Effect of population size structure on reproductive investment of male bluegill. N Am J Fisheries Manag 17:516–524

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnston TA, Wiegand MD, Szmadyla RL, Porteous LR, Casselman JM, Leggett WC (2020) Sex-based differences in fatty acid composition of adult walleye. Ecol Freshwater Fish 29:654–664

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones JR, Obrecht DV, Perkins BD, Knowlton AP, Thorpe, Watanabe S, Backon RR (2008) Nutrients, seston, and transparency of Missouri reservoirs and oxbow lakes: an analyses of regional limnology. Lake Reserv Manage 24:155–180

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kainz M, Telmer K, Mazumder A (2006) Bioaccumulation patterns of methyl mercury and essential fatty acids in lacustrine planktonic food webs and fish. Sci Total Environ 368:271–282

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khan KU, Zuberi A, Fernandes JBK, Ullah I, Sarwar H (2017) An overview of the ongoing insights in selenium research and its role in fish nutrition and fish health. Fish Physiol Biochem 43:1689–1705

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Khadra M, Carson A, Planas D, Ponton DE, Rosabal M, Amyot M (2019) The fish or the egg: maternal transfer and subcellular partitioning of mercury and selenium in Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens). Sci Total Environ675:609–614

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knott KK, O’Hearn R, Niswonger D, Lawson L, North R, Obrecht D, Tracy–Smith E, Voss R, Wenzel J, McKee M (2020) Physical, chemical, and biological factors that contribute to the variability of mercury concentrations in largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides from Missouri reservoirs. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 78:284–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kris–Etherton PM, Harris WS, Appel LJ (2002) Fish consumption, fish oil, omega–3 fatty acids, and cardiovascular disease. Circulation. 106:2747–2757

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lavoie RA, Jardine TD, Chumchal MM, Kidd KA, Campbell LM (2013) Biomagnification of mercury in aquatic food webs: a worldwide meta-analysis. Environ Sci Technol 47:13385–13394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Madenjian CP (2011) Sex effect on polychlorinated biphenyl concentrations in fish: a synthesis. Fis Fisheries 12:451–460

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mangiapane E, Pessione A, Pessione E (2014) Selenium and selenoproteins: an overview on different biological systems. Curr Protein Peptide Sci 15:598–607

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mauro JBN, Guimaraes JRD, Hintelmann H, Watras CJ, Haak EA, Coelho–Souza SA (2002) Mercury methylation in macrophytes, periphyton, and water–comparative studies with stable and radio–mercury additions. Anal Bioanal Chem 374:983–989

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Melaa M, Randia MAF, Venturab DF, Carvalhoc CEV, Pelletierd E, Oliveira, Ribeiroa CA (2007) Effects of dietary methylmercury on liver and kidney histology in the neotropical fish Hoplias malabaricus. Ecotoxicol Environ Safety 68:426–235

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mills N, Cashatt D, Weber MJ, Pierce CL (2018) A case study and a meta–analysis of seasonal variation in fish mercury concentrations. Ecotoxicology 27:641–649

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Morcillo P, Esteban M, Cuesta A (2017) Mercury and its toxic effects on fish. AIMS Environ Sci 4:385–402

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy GW, Newcomb TJ, Orth DJ (2007) Sexual and Seasonal Variations of Mercury in Smallmouth Bass. J Freshwater Ecol 22:135–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/02705060.2007.9664153

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy B, Willis D (1996) Fisheries techniques, 2nd edn. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  • Oken E, Radesky JS, Wright RO, Bellinger DC, Amarasiriwardena CJ, Kleinman KP, Hu H, Gillman MW (2008) Maternal fish intake during pregnancy, blood mercury levels, and child cognition at age 3 years in a US cohort. Am J Epidemiol 167:1171–1181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petty EL, Obrecht DV, North RL (2020) Filling in the flyover zone: High phosphorus in Midwestern (USA) reservoirs results in high phytoplankton biomass but not high primary productivity. Frontiers in Environmental Science. 8 (111). https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00111

  • Pflieger WL, Sullivan M, Taylor L (1997) The Fishes of Missouri. Missouri Department of Conservation, Jefferson City, MO

    Google Scholar 

  • Poste AE, Muir DCG, Guildford SJ, Hecky RE (2015) Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury in African lakes: the importance of trophic status. Sci Total Environ 506–507:126–136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pickhardt PC, Folt CL, Chen CY, Klaue B, Blum JD (2002) Algal blooms reduce the uptake of toxic methylmercury in freshwater food webs. Proc Natl Acad Sci 99:4419–4423. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.072531099

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ralston NV, Raymond LJ (2010) Dietary selenium’s protective effects against methylmercury toxicity. Toxicology. 278:112–123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramauge M, Pallud S, Esfandiari A, Gavaret JM, Lennon AM, Pierre M, Courtin F (1996) Evidence that type III iodothyronine deiodinase in rat astrocyte is a selenoprotein. Endocrinology 137:3021–3025

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roman HA, Walsh TL, Coull BA, Dewailly É, Guallar E, Hattis D, Mariën K, Schwartz J, Stern AH, Virtanen JK, Rice G (2011) Evaluation of the cardiovascular effects of methylmercury exposures: current evidence supports development of a dose–response function for regulatory benefits analysis. Environ Health Perspect 119:607–614

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rizzo E, Bazzoli N (2020) Chapter 13 - Reproduction and embryogenesis. In Biology and Physiology of Freshwater Neotropical Fishes. Academic Press. B Baldisserotto, E Criscuolo Urbinati, JEP Cyrono (Eds). p 287−313

  • Sahu A, Pancha I, Jain D, Paliwal C, Ghosh T, Patidar S, Bhattacharya S, Mishra S (2013) Fatty acids as biomarkers of microalgae. Phytochemistry. 89:53–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sandheinrich MB, Wiener JG (2011) Methylmercury in Freshwater Fish: recent advances in assessing toxicity of environmentally relevant exposures. In: Beyer WN, Meador JP (Eds). Environmental Contaminants in Biota, Second Edition ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL USA, p 169–90

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sandheinrich MB, Drevnick PE (2016) Relationship among mercury concentration, growth rate, and condition of northern pike: a tautology resolved? Environ. Tox Chem 35:2910–291

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sharathchandra K, Rajashekhar M (2011) Total lipid and fatty acid composition in some freshwater cyanobacteria. J Algal Biomass Utln 2:83–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Slotton DG, Reuter JE, Goldman CR (1995) Mercury uptake patterns of biota in a seasonally anoxic northern California reservoir. Water Air Soil Pollut 80:841–850

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Steffens W, Wirth M (2005) Freshwater fish– an important source of n–3 polyunsaturated fatty acids: A review. Arch Pol Fish 13:5–16

    Google Scholar 

  • Taipale SJ, Vuorio K, Strandberg U, Kahilainen KK, Jarvinen M, Hiltunen M, Peltomaa E, Kankaala P (2016) Lake eutrophication and brownification downgrade availability and transfer of essential fatty acids for human consumption. Environ Int 96:156–166

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Trudel M, Rasmussen JB (2006) Bioenergetics and mercury dynamics in fish: a modelling perspective. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 63:1890–1902

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ward SM, Neumann RM (1999) Seasonal variations in concentrations of mercury in axial muscle tissue of largemouth bass. N Am J Fish Manag 19:89–96

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiegand MD (1996) Composition, accumulation and utilization of yolk lipids in teleost fish. Rev Fish Biol Fisheries 6:259–286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu P, Kainz MJ, Bravo AG, Åkerblom S, Sonesten L, Bishop K (2019) The importance of bioconcentration into the pelagic food web base for methylmercury biomagnification: a meta–analysis. Sci. Total Environ. 646:357–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.328

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zahir F, Rizwi SJ, Haq SK, Khan RH (2005) How does mercury toxicity and human health. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 20:351–361

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zale A, Parrish D, Sutton T (Eds) (2012) Fisheries techniques, 3rd edn. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang D, Lin W, Liu Y, Guo H, Wang L, Yang L, Li L, Li D, Tang R (2020) Chronic microcystin-LR exposure induces abnormal lipid metabolism via endoplasmic reticulum stress in male zebrafish. Toxins. 12:107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the comments and suggestions from 5 anonymous reviewers. Their contributions greatly helped to improve and provide focus for this manuscript. We also thank James Baker, Morgann Clinton, Steffanie Abel, William Schriener, and other Missouri Department of Conservation staff that assisted in collection, dissection, aging, and data recording of fish; and the members of the MU Limnology lab (Jaylen Bragg, Kyra Florea, Josh Hagerty, Josh Horne, Matt Sauer, Meghan Schrik, Claire Vanderwerken, and Kiah Wright) who assisted in the collection of water quality data.

Author contributions

Conceptualization (KKK); Data curation (KKK, EC, JAC–G); Formal analyses (KKK, EC, JAC–G); Funding acquisition (KKK, RO’H, DN, AA, RN, JW); Methodology (KKK, RO’H, DN, AA, RN); Project administration (KKK); Resources (KKK, RO’H, DN, AA, RN, JDB); Visualization (KKK); Writing—original draft preparation (KKK, EC), Writing—review and editing (JAC–G, RO’H, DN, JDB, AA, RN, JW).

Funding

Laboratory analyses and state governmental staff support was funded by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Support for EC provided through the MDC Summer Internship program. Support for JCG was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey under Grant/Cooperative Agreement No. G16AP00066. The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Geological Survey. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Geological Survey. This manuscript is submitted for publication with the understanding that the United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes. Support for AA was provided by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture McIntire–Stennis Project 1016163.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Katrina K. Knott.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Knott, K.K., Coleman, E., Cianci–Gaskill, J.A. et al. Mercury, selenium, and fatty acids in the axial muscle of largemouth bass: evaluating the influence of seasonal and sexual changes in fish condition and reproductive status. Ecotoxicology 31, 761–781 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02544-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-022-02544-4

Keywords

Navigation