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Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels

Riverine sediments are important sites of mercury methylation and benthic invertebrates may be indicators of Hg exposure to higher organisms. From 2014 to 2018, sediments and invertebrates were collected along a mercury gradient in the Toce River (Northern Italy) and analyzed for THg and MeHg. Conce...

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Autores principales: Marziali, Laura, Roscioli, Claudio, Valsecchi, Lucia
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8473003/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34564348
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics9090197
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author Marziali, Laura
Roscioli, Claudio
Valsecchi, Lucia
author_facet Marziali, Laura
Roscioli, Claudio
Valsecchi, Lucia
author_sort Marziali, Laura
collection PubMed
description Riverine sediments are important sites of mercury methylation and benthic invertebrates may be indicators of Hg exposure to higher organisms. From 2014 to 2018, sediments and invertebrates were collected along a mercury gradient in the Toce River (Northern Italy) and analyzed for THg and MeHg. Concentrations in invertebrates, separated according to taxon and to Functional Feeding Group, ranged from 20 to 253 µg kg(−1) dry weight (d.w.) for THg, increasing from grazers (Leuctra, Baetis, Serratella) to predators (Perla). MeHg ranged from 3 to 88 µg kg(−1) d.w. in biota, representing 6–53% of THg, while in sediments it was mostly below LOD (0.7 µg kg(−1)), accounting for ≤3.8% of THg. The Biota-Sediment Accumulation Factor (BSAF, ranging 0.2–4.6) showed an inverse relation to exposure concentrations (THg in sediments, ranging 0.014–0.403 µg kg(−1) d.w.) and to organic carbon. THg in invertebrates (up to 73 µg kg(−1) wet weight), i.e., at the basal levels of the aquatic trophic chain, exceeded the European Environmental Quality Standard for biota (20 µg kg(−1) w.w.), posing potential risks for top predators. Concentrations in adult insects were close to those in aquatic stages, proving active mercury transfer even to terrestrial food chains.
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spelling pubmed-84730032021-09-28 Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels Marziali, Laura Roscioli, Claudio Valsecchi, Lucia Toxics Article Riverine sediments are important sites of mercury methylation and benthic invertebrates may be indicators of Hg exposure to higher organisms. From 2014 to 2018, sediments and invertebrates were collected along a mercury gradient in the Toce River (Northern Italy) and analyzed for THg and MeHg. Concentrations in invertebrates, separated according to taxon and to Functional Feeding Group, ranged from 20 to 253 µg kg(−1) dry weight (d.w.) for THg, increasing from grazers (Leuctra, Baetis, Serratella) to predators (Perla). MeHg ranged from 3 to 88 µg kg(−1) d.w. in biota, representing 6–53% of THg, while in sediments it was mostly below LOD (0.7 µg kg(−1)), accounting for ≤3.8% of THg. The Biota-Sediment Accumulation Factor (BSAF, ranging 0.2–4.6) showed an inverse relation to exposure concentrations (THg in sediments, ranging 0.014–0.403 µg kg(−1) d.w.) and to organic carbon. THg in invertebrates (up to 73 µg kg(−1) wet weight), i.e., at the basal levels of the aquatic trophic chain, exceeded the European Environmental Quality Standard for biota (20 µg kg(−1) w.w.), posing potential risks for top predators. Concentrations in adult insects were close to those in aquatic stages, proving active mercury transfer even to terrestrial food chains. MDPI 2021-08-24 /pmc/articles/PMC8473003/ /pubmed/34564348 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics9090197 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Marziali, Laura
Roscioli, Claudio
Valsecchi, Lucia
Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels
title Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels
title_full Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels
title_fullStr Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels
title_full_unstemmed Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels
title_short Mercury Bioaccumulation in Benthic Invertebrates: From Riverine Sediments to Higher Trophic Levels
title_sort mercury bioaccumulation in benthic invertebrates: from riverine sediments to higher trophic levels
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8473003/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34564348
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/toxics9090197
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