4.7 Article

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

Journal

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 180, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.113801

Keywords

Methylmercury; Tunas; Blood; White muscle; Vertical habitat; Pacific Ocean

Funding

  1. French National Research Agency [ANR-17-CE34-0010]
  2. Pacific Fund VACOPA project
  3. LabexMER [ANRH10HLABXH19]
  4. Ministry of Environment, French Government (Investissements d'Avenir program)
  5. Regional Council of Brittany (SAD program)
  6. EU FP7 Marie Curie actions through the PRESTIGE program [PCOFUND-GA-2013-609102]
  7. U.S. National Science Foundation [1229258]
  8. Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) [ANR-17-CE34-0010] Funding Source: Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR)

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Understanding the relationship between mercury in seafood and the distribution of oceanic methylmercury is important for understanding human mercury exposure. This study found similar latitudinal patterns of mercury concentrations in the muscle and blood of bigeye and yellowfin tunas, indicating that both tissues are suitable for monitoring mercury levels. The analysis of different tuna species showed species- and tissue-specific mercury patterns, suggesting variations in mercury uptake and accumulation processes associated with their vertical habitat.
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.

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