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Assessing mercury contamination in a tropical coastal system using the mussel Perna perna and the sea anemone Bunodosoma caissarum

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Abstract

Total mercury concentrations in the mussel Perna perna and the sea anemone Bunodosoma caissarum were determined to assess Hg contamination in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and an adjacent sea area. Concentrations in the tissues of these species were compared. Average total mercury concentrations ranged from 3.54 to 21.01 μg kg−1 (wet wt.) in P. perna and from 4.51 to 23.19 μg kg−1 (wet wt.) for B. caissarum. Concentrations varied according to the sampling stations. Distribution of concentrations for both species was similar along the sampling stations, and a significant correlation was observed. Results suggest that B. caissarum could be a suitable biomonitor species for mercury contamination in the study area and could be used as a complementary species for monitoring studies. Further research is, however, needed to assess how environmental conditions and other variables affect Hg concentrations in B. caissarum.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Igor Pessoa, Matheus Parahyba, Marcelo Dilelo, Raquel Toste, and Renato Campello Cordeiro for the help in the sampling collection. A special thanks also to Cláudia Lucas Melo and Mariana Alonso for their kind support during laboratory analysis, to Malcolm Bush for the great help with editing the English text, and to an anonymous reviewer for the helpful comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Faculdade de Oceanografia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rua São Francisco Xavier, 524/401 8E, 20550-013, Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Nafisa Rizzini Ansari, Marcos Antônio Fernandez, José Lailson Brito Jr., Lara Gama Vidal & Erika Silva de Andrade Costa

  2. Instituto de Biofísica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Bloco G/CCS, 21941-902, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Olaf Malm

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  1. Nafisa Rizzini Ansari
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  2. Marcos Antônio Fernandez
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  3. José Lailson Brito Jr.
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  6. Olaf Malm
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Correspondence to Nafisa Rizzini Ansari.

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Rizzini Ansari, N., Fernandez, M.A., Brito, J.L. et al. Assessing mercury contamination in a tropical coastal system using the mussel Perna perna and the sea anemone Bunodosoma caissarum . Environ Monit Assess 188, 679 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5683-7

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