Abstract
Waders residing in the Dutch Wadden Sea had high selenium concentrations in the tissues. These high concentrations may be a result of a contamination in the food chain, and a selection of marine invertebrate prey animals, the bivalves Macoma balthica and Mytilus edulis and the polychaete Nereis diversicolor, were analyzed for selenium. Selenium concentrations varied by year, season, location, species and size, but the average concentrations (2–6 mg/kg ash free dry weight) remained within the range of known background concentrations in marine invertebrates (1–10 mg/kg DW). However, the highest concentrations approximate the general (sub)toxic level of dietary selenium. The importance of the determination of the selenium compound(s) in marine biota is stressed
Macoma had a seasonal variation in selenium concentration that may parallel the reproductive cycle; the highest concentrations (4–5 mg/kg AFDW) were found in the spawning period, the concentration dropped after spawning and in the recovery phase the bivalves were lowest in selenium (2–3 mg/kg AFDW). Intermediate concentrations (3–4 mg/kg AFDW) were measured during the gametogenesis. Concentrations changes in Mytilus corresponded with this pattern.
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Goede, A.A., Wolterbeek, H. & Koese, M.J. Selenium concentrations in the marine invertebrates Macoma balthica, Mytilus edulis, and Nereis diversicolor . Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 25, 85–89 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00230716
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00230716