Mercury in Barents sea fish in the Arctic polar night: species and spatial comparison

Anjali Gopakumar; Julia Giebichenstein; Evgeniia Raskhozheva; Katrine Borgå

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112501

Mercury in Barents sea fish in the Arctic polar night: species and spatial comparison

Anjali Gopakumar, Julia Giebichenstein, Evgeniia Raskhozheva, Katrine Borgå^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

7 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Although mercury (Hg) in polar ecosystems has been well-studied, there is little information on Hg in the Arctic during low-productivity seasons like the polar night. We quantified Hg concentrations, carbon, and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N) in the muscle of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), and capelin (Mallotus villosus) sampled from the North-West and North-East Barents Sea during November–December 2019. Hg concentrations varied between species (14–175 ng/g dw), dependent on region, but were well below the toxicity threshold for fish health and the EU-accepted threshold for human consumption. Interspecific differences were observed only in the North-East region, with Atlantic cod having thighest Hg concentrations, explained by its larger size, higher trophic position and benthopelagic feeding. Spatial differences in polar cod with higher Hg concentrations in the North-East than the North-West were likely due to a combination of differences in food web structure and Hg exposure.

Original language	English
Article number	112501
Pages (from-to)	1-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	Marine Pollution Bulletin
Volume	169
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112501
Publication status	Published - Aug 2021
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2021. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

Arctic
Atlantic cod
Capelin
Stable isotopes
Mercury

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10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112501Licence: CC BY

Publisher version (open access)Final published version, 2.91 MBLicence: CC BY

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title = "Mercury in Barents sea fish in the Arctic polar night: species and spatial comparison",

abstract = "Although mercury (Hg) in polar ecosystems has been well-studied, there is little information on Hg in the Arctic during low-productivity seasons like the polar night. We quantified Hg concentrations, carbon, and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in the muscle of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), and capelin (Mallotus villosus) sampled from the North-West and North-East Barents Sea during November–December 2019. Hg concentrations varied between species (14–175 ng/g dw), dependent on region, but were well below the toxicity threshold for fish health and the EU-accepted threshold for human consumption. Interspecific differences were observed only in the North-East region, with Atlantic cod having thighest Hg concentrations, explained by its larger size, higher trophic position and benthopelagic feeding. Spatial differences in polar cod with higher Hg concentrations in the North-East than the North-West were likely due to a combination of differences in food web structure and Hg exposure.",

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author = "Anjali Gopakumar and Julia Giebichenstein and Evgeniia Raskhozheva and Katrine Borg{\aa}",

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AU - Gopakumar, Anjali

AU - Giebichenstein, Julia

AU - Raskhozheva, Evgeniia

AU - Borgå, Katrine

N1 - Copyright the Author(s) 2021. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2021/8

Y1 - 2021/8

N2 - Although mercury (Hg) in polar ecosystems has been well-studied, there is little information on Hg in the Arctic during low-productivity seasons like the polar night. We quantified Hg concentrations, carbon, and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in the muscle of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), and capelin (Mallotus villosus) sampled from the North-West and North-East Barents Sea during November–December 2019. Hg concentrations varied between species (14–175 ng/g dw), dependent on region, but were well below the toxicity threshold for fish health and the EU-accepted threshold for human consumption. Interspecific differences were observed only in the North-East region, with Atlantic cod having thighest Hg concentrations, explained by its larger size, higher trophic position and benthopelagic feeding. Spatial differences in polar cod with higher Hg concentrations in the North-East than the North-West were likely due to a combination of differences in food web structure and Hg exposure.

AB - Although mercury (Hg) in polar ecosystems has been well-studied, there is little information on Hg in the Arctic during low-productivity seasons like the polar night. We quantified Hg concentrations, carbon, and nitrogen stable isotope ratios (δ13C and δ15N) in the muscle of polar cod (Boreogadus saida), Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), and capelin (Mallotus villosus) sampled from the North-West and North-East Barents Sea during November–December 2019. Hg concentrations varied between species (14–175 ng/g dw), dependent on region, but were well below the toxicity threshold for fish health and the EU-accepted threshold for human consumption. Interspecific differences were observed only in the North-East region, with Atlantic cod having thighest Hg concentrations, explained by its larger size, higher trophic position and benthopelagic feeding. Spatial differences in polar cod with higher Hg concentrations in the North-East than the North-West were likely due to a combination of differences in food web structure and Hg exposure.

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AN - SCOPUS:85106463091

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Mercury in Barents sea fish in the Arctic polar night: species and spatial comparison

Abstract

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