Journal
CHEMISTRY AND ECOLOGY
Volume 22, Issue 5, Pages 405-414Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.1080/02757540600917328
Keywords
arsenic; total content; chemical speciation; marine organisms; bioaccumulation
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Arsenic is a widely distributed element which occurs in several chemical forms in the marine environment. Inorganic arsenic mediates the most toxic effects and predominates in sea water and sediments, while organisms generally accumulate non-toxic organic forms to concentrations probably reflecting species-specific characteristics in arsenic metabolism. This work represents an additional contribution to our knowledge on natural levels and chemical speciation of arsenic in marine organisms; basal concentrations were characterized in several species (bivalves, crustaceans, and fishes) from different environments (polar, temperate, and tropical latitudes), and results revealed an elevated variability with values ranging from less than 5 to about 200 mu g g(-1). No significant effects were observed as a function of the geographical area, with the only exception of crustaceans always showing more elevated arsenic concentrations in Mediterranean species (about 45-110 mu g g(-1)) compared with tropical species (lower than 30 mu g g(-1)). Chemical speciation of arsenic was investigated in representative species from the three studied taxa; the predominance of organic forms confirmed the general tendency of marine organisms to bioaccumulate non-toxic arsenic compounds, probably resulting from a detoxification pathway.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available