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Mercury and Selenium in a Top-Predator Fish, Trichiurus lepturus (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Tropical Brazilian Coast, Rio de Janeiro

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Abstract

Muscular mercury and selenium were assessed in a voracious fish from three Brazilian coastal areas with different environmental conditions. Mercury was higher in specimens from Ilha Grande Bay (0.35 ± 0.17 μg g−1) than in cutlassfish from Guanabara Bay (0.30 ± 0.15 μg g−1) and Buzios coast (0.13 ± 0.08 μg g−1), respectively. No difference was found regarding selenium among these areas. Mercury was positively correlated with fish length and size intervals (sub-adult, small and large adult), suggesting that larger and older fish bioaccumulated more mercury. A large excess of molar selenium in relation to mercury was observed.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the financial support of the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ Proc 101976/2009), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Química, PUC-Rio, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22453-900, Brazil

    Tércia G. Seixas & Isabel Moreira

  2. Laboratório de Radioisótopos Eduardo Penna Franca, IBCCF—Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21949-900, Brazil

    Olaf Malm & Helena A. Kehrig

Authors
  1. Tércia G. Seixas
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  2. Isabel Moreira
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  3. Olaf Malm
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  4. Helena A. Kehrig
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Correspondence to Tércia G. Seixas.

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Seixas, T.G., Moreira, I., Malm, O. et al. Mercury and Selenium in a Top-Predator Fish, Trichiurus lepturus (Linnaeus, 1758), from the Tropical Brazilian Coast, Rio de Janeiro. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 89, 434–438 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0680-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0680-1

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