Mercury concentrations in tuna blood and muscle mirror seawater methylmercury in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

Type Article
Date 2022-07
Language English
Author(s) Barbosa Romina1, Point DavidORCID2, Médieu AnaisORCID1, Allain Valerie3, Gillikin David P.ORCID4, Couturier Lydie I.E.1, Munaron Jean-Marie5, Roupsard François3, Lorrain Anne5
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Brest, IRD, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, F-29280 Plouzané, France
2 : Geosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET) - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), CNRS, Université de Toulouse, France
3 : Pacific Community, Oceanic Fisheries Programme, Nouméa, New Caledonia
4 : Department of Geosciences, Union College, 807 Union St., Schenectady, NY 12308, USA
5 : Univ Brest, IRD, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, F-29280 Plouzané, France
Source Marine Pollution Bulletin (0025-326X) (Elsevier BV), 2022-07 , Vol. 180 , P. 113801 (9p.)
DOI 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113801
WOS© Times Cited 6
Keyword(s) Methylmercury, Tunas, Blood, White muscle, Vertical habitat, Pacific Ocean
Abstract

Understanding the relationship between mercury in seafood and the distribution of oceanic methylmercury is key to understand human mercury exposure. Here, we determined mercury concentrations in muscle and blood of bigeye and yellowfin tunas from the Western and Central Pacific. Results showed similar latitudinal patterns in tuna blood and muscle, indicating that both tissues are good candidates for mercury monitoring. Complementary tuna species analyses indicated species- and tissue- specific mercury patterns, highlighting differences in physiologic processes of mercury uptake and accumulation associated with tuna vertical habitat. Tuna mercury content was correlated to ambient seawater methylmercury concentrations, with blood being enriched at a higher rate than muscle with increasing habitat depth. The consideration of a significant uptake of dissolved methylmercury from seawater in tuna, in addition to assimilation from food, might be interesting to test in models to represent the spatiotemporal evolutions of mercury in tuna under different mercury emission scenarios.

Full Text
File Pages Size Access
9 3 MB Access on demand
600 KB Access on demand
Author's final draft 28 5 MB Open access
Top of the page

How to cite 

Barbosa Romina, Point David, Médieu Anais, Allain Valerie, Gillikin David P., Couturier Lydie I.E., Munaron Jean-Marie, Roupsard François, Lorrain Anne (2022). Mercury concentrations in tuna blood and muscle mirror seawater methylmercury in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 180, 113801 (9p.). Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113801 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00776/88756/