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Mercury Biomagnification Through a Coral Reef Ecosystem

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Abstract

Total mercury (Hg) and stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon were determined in the muscle tissue of 50 species of fishes and invertebrates collected at two sites along the Florida reef tract from April 2012 to December 2013. The objective was to test the hypothesis that high biodiversity in coral reefs leading to complex food webs with increased lateral links reduces biomagnification. However, Hg levels ranged as high 6.84 mg/kg. Interestingly, it was not highest in great barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda), considered the top predatory fish, but instead in small porkfish (Anisotremus virginicus), possibly due to their role as a cleaner fish. Trophic magnification slopes (TMS; from regression of log Hg on δ15N) as a measure of biomagnification did not differ between sites, ranging from 0.155 ± 0.04 (± 95% CI) to 0.201 ± 0.07. These TMS also were within the ranges of slopes reported for food webs in other ecosystems; thus, biomagnification of Hg in muscle tissue was not reduced in the system.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank FGCU students that provided field or laboratory support on this project as paid interns or volunteers, including Alex Leynse, Amanda Ellsworth, Ashley Brandt, Nicole Fronczkowski, Megan Conkling, Adam Catasus, and Jeff Zingre. They also thank Curt Slonim for his assistance in catching and providing many of the great barracuda from TRL. Finally, we thank two anonymous reviewers for their comments that improved this manuscript. Funding for this work was provided by an internal grant from Florida Gulf Coast University, Office of Sponsored Programs. Additionally, we also split samples and leveraged fieldwork of a much larger study (by Parsons) investigating biomagnification of ciguatoxins funded through NOAA’s Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) Program.

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  1. Florida Gulf Coast University, 10501 FGCU Blvd. South, Fort Myers, FL, 33965, USA

    Darren G. Rumbold, Christopher T. Lienhardt & Michael L. Parsons

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  1. Darren G. Rumbold
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  2. Christopher T. Lienhardt
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Correspondence to Darren G. Rumbold.

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Rumbold, D.G., Lienhardt, C.T. & Parsons, M.L. Mercury Biomagnification Through a Coral Reef Ecosystem. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 75, 121–133 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-018-0523-0

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