Mercury and methylmercury bioaccumulation by polychaete worms is governed by both feeding ecology and mercury bioavailability in coastal mudflats

Sizmur, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9835-7195, Canario, J., Gerwing, T., Mallory, M. and O'Driscoll, N. (2013) Mercury and methylmercury bioaccumulation by polychaete worms is governed by both feeding ecology and mercury bioavailability in coastal mudflats. Environmental Pollution, 176. pp. 18-25. ISSN 0269-7491 doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2013.01.008

Abstract/Summary

Polychaete worms are abundant in many mudflats but their importance to coastal food web Hg biomagnification is not known. We sampled sediments and polychaete worms from mudflats in the Bay of Fundy to investigate the bioaccumulation of mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in the coastal invertebrate food web. Hg concentrations in the sediments were low (<20 μg kg−1). Labile Hg (methanol/KOH sediment extraction) in surface sediments (0–1 cm) was positively correlated with Hg bioaccumulation by surface sediment-ingesting polychaetes but, surprisingly, there was a negative correlation between δ15N (i.e. trophic level) and THg bioaccumulation factors in polychaete worms. Worms feeding on deeper sediments contained the greatest MeHg concentrations (69.6 μg kg−1). Polychaetes are an important vector for Hg biomagnification to the coastal avian food web. This research demonstrates that feeding depth and method of feeding are more important than trophic position or sediment Hg concentrations for predicting Hg bioaccumulation.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/40798
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items
Uncontrolled Keywords	Mercury; Polychaete worm; Burrowing; Trophic position; Sediment
Publisher	Elsevier
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