Evaluating total mercury and methylmercury biomagnification using stable isotopes of carbon and nitrogen in fish from the Madeira River basin, Brazilian Amazon

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 30; no. 12; pp. 33543 - 33554
• Main Authors: Mussy, Marília Higino, de Almeida, Ronaldo, de Carvalho, Dario Pires, Lauthartte, Leidiane Caroline, de Holanda, Igor Bruno Barbosa, Almeida, Marcelo Gomes de, de Sousa-Filho, Izidro Ferreira, de Rezende, Carlos Eduardo, Malm, Olaf, Bastos, Wanderley Rodrigues
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2023
• Subjects: Animals; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaccumulation; Brazil; Carbon - metabolism; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Fishes - metabolism; Food Chain; Isotopes; Mercury - analysis; Methylmercury Compounds - metabolism; Nitrogen - metabolism; Research Article; Rivers; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollution Control; Brazil; Trophic guilds; C and N isotopes; Bioaccumulation; Western Amazon; Methylmercury
• ISSN: 1614-7499; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-022-24235-7

The isotopic signatures of carbon in primary consumer fish species in the Madeira River basin (Western Amazon) follow a pattern, with basal species feeding mainly on C 3 (e.g., vascular plants and phytoplankton). In this study with 196 specimens of 19 fish species and six trophic guilds, significant differences were found between the two main groups of primary consumers (herbivores and detritivores) in the Madeira River basin. The mercury and δ 15 N data indicated that the fish specimens collected in Puruzinho and Cuniã Lakes provided greater trophic magnification factors (TMFs) for this metal than those found in the corresponding rivers. In relation to total mercury (0.09–2.07 μg g −1 ) and methylmercury (0.05–1.91 μg g −1 ) concentrations, the piscivorous/carnivorous species exceeded the values recommended by the World Health Organization, with a [MeHg:THg] ratio of about 80%. Preventive and educational practices should be adopted to reduce the possible toxic effects of Hg in the riverside population, for whom fish constitutes the main protein source. Also, biomonitoring of the fish species in the Madeira River should be conducted on an ongoing basis to detect possible alterations in mercury concentrations.