Mercury and selenium biomagnification in a coastal food web from the Gulf of California influenced by agriculture and shrimp aquaculture

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 40; pp. 56175 - 56187
• Main Authors: Molina-García, Araceli, García-Hernández, Jaqueline, Soto-Jiménez, Martín Federico, Páez-Osuna, Federico, Jara-Marini, Martín Enrique
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.10.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquaculture; Aquaculture effluents; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bioaccumulation; Biological magnification; Detoxification; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Food chains; Food webs; Lagoons; Mercury; Organisms; Particulate emissions; Particulate matter; Research Article; Selenium; Stable isotopes; Trophic levels; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Gulf of California; Selenium; Mercury; Anthropogenic activities; Stable isotopes; Coastal lagoon; Biomagnification
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14524-y

The biomagnification of Hg and Se was studied using nitrogen stable isotope analysis during four seasons in a coastal lagoon of the eastern central Gulf of California. This lagoon receives agricultural, municipal, and shrimp aquaculture effluents. The species were categorized into organism groups and presented a significant accumulation of Hg and Se with respect to the sources, while the concentration of both elements in sediment and suspended particulate matter (SPM) was low. Our data confirms the positive transfers (biomagnification factors >1) of Hg and Se in the entire studied food web, and it was structured in five trophic levels across all seasons. Additionally, there were no linear correlations between the molar Se:Hg ratios and the trophic levels of the organism groups. However, the Se:Hg ratios among organism groups were >1, which indicates that there is an excess of Se and that it is not a limiting factor for the detoxification of Hg.