TY - JOUR T1 - Are red mullet efficient as bio-indicators of mercury contamination? A case study from the French Mediterranean A1 - Cresson,Pierre A1 - Bouchoucha,Marc A1 - Miralles,F. A1 - Elleboode,Romain A1 - Mahe,Kelig A1 - Marusczak,Nicolas A1 - Thebault,Herve A1 - Cossa,Daniel AD - IFREMER, Ctr Mediterranee, F-83507 La Seyne Sur Mer, France. AD - IFREMER, Ctr Manche Mer Nord, F-62321 Boulogne Sur Mer, France. AD - Inst Radioprotect & Surete Nucl, PRP ENV SESURE LERCM, F-83507 La Seyne Sur Mer, France. AD - Univ Joseph Fourier, ISTerre, F-38041 Grenoble, France. AD - Univ Toulouse 3, CNRS IRD, Lab Geosci Environm Toulouse, Observ Midi Pyrenees, F-31400 Toulouse, France. UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.005 DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2014.12.005 KW - Mercury KW - Bio-indicator KW - Fish KW - Mullus spp. KW - Mediterranean N2 - Mercury (Hg) is one of the main chemicals currently altering Mediterranean ecosystems. Red mullet (Mullus barbatus and M. surmuletus) have been widely used as quantitative bio-indicators of chemical contamination. In this study, we reassess the ability of these species to be used as efficient bio-indicators of Hg contamination by monitoring during 18 months Hg concentrations in muscle tissue of mullet sampled from 5 French Mediterranean coastal areas. Mean concentrations ranged between 0.23 and 0.78 μg g−1 dry mass for both species. Values were consistent with expected contamination patterns of all sites except Corsica. Results confirmed that red mullets are efficient bio-indicators of Hg contamination. Nevertheless, the observed variability in Hg concentrations calls for caution regarding the period and the sample size. Attention should be paid to environmental and biologic specificities of each studied site, as they can alter the bioaccumulation of Hg, and lead to inferences about environmental Hg concentrations. Y1 - 2015/02 PB - Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd JF - Marine Pollution Bulletin SN - 0025-326X VL - 91 IS - 1 SP - 191 EP - 199 ID - 35514 ER -