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Large-scale geographic patterns of mercury contamination in Morocco revealed by freshwater turtles

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Abstract

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic contaminant present in most aquatic ecosystems. High concentrations pose serious threats to organisms and to human health. Because previous studies focused on few countries, environmental hazard due to Hg contamination remains obscure in many geographic areas, and for example limited information is available in North Africa. We examined total Hg contamination in 13 sites in Morocco (12 rivers and one lake) spread over a large area, 400 km north–south and 350 km west–east, that encompasses different biogeographic zones separated by the Atlas Mountains. Due to their longevity and sedentary habits, we used freshwater turtles as biological probes to monitor Hg exposure. Keratinized tissues reflect long-term Hg exposure; thus, we assayed Hg concentration in the claws of > 200 individuals and supplemented these data with blood Hg concentrations of > 60 individuals (a tissue that provides shorter term Hg exposure integration). The results provide the first large-scale picture of Hg contamination in the aquatic freshwater systems of Morocco. Comparisons with previous studies revealed that some of the sites were highly contaminated (e.g. mean Hg concentrations were above 5 μg g−1, a very high level in keratinized tissues) whereas other sites presented moderate or baseline levels. Unexpectedly, all highly contaminated sites were found in less densely populated areas, while more densely urbanized northern sites, even the sewers of large cities, were not highly contaminated. We hypothesize that silver mining activities in the southern High Atlas and in the Anti-Atlas contaminate rivers of the catchment basins over long distances. These findings indicate that fish, water consumption and contamination levels in local people should be further scrutinized.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank T. Lechevalier, S. Lecq, and C.L. Michel for assistance during fieldwork. The authors are grateful to C. Churlaud from the Plateforme Analyses Elémentaires of the LIENSs laboratory for her technical support during Hg analyses. The IUF (Institut Universitaire de France) is acknowledged for its support to PB. The comments provided by one reviewer improved the manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the Hassan II Academy of Sciences and Technics—Morocco (ICGVSA project).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Laboratory Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, Cadi Ayyad University, P.O. Box 2390, 40000, Marrakesh, Morocco

    Tahar Slimani, Mohamed Said El Hassani & El Hassan El Mouden

  2. Centre d’Etude Biologique de Chizé, UMR 7372, CNRS—Université de La Rochelle, 79360, Villiers en Bois, France

    Marine Bonnet, François Brischoux & Xavier Bonnet

  3. Littoral Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266, CNRS—Université de la Rochelle, 2 rue Olympe de Gouges, 17000, La Rochelle, France

    Paco Bustamante & Maud Brault-Favrou

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  1. Tahar Slimani
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  2. Mohamed Said El Hassani
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  3. El Hassan El Mouden
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  4. Marine Bonnet
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  5. Paco Bustamante
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  7. Maud Brault-Favrou
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  8. Xavier Bonnet
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Correspondence to Xavier Bonnet.

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Slimani, T., El Hassani, M.S., El Mouden, E.H. et al. Large-scale geographic patterns of mercury contamination in Morocco revealed by freshwater turtles. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 2350–2360 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-017-0643-5

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