Skip to main content

Benthic and pelagic pathways of methylmercury bioaccumulation in estuarine food webs of the northeast United States.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Chen, CY; Borsuk, ME; Bugge, DM; Hollweg, T; Balcom, PH; Ward, DM; Williams, J; Mason, RP
Published in: PloS one
January 2014

Methylmercury (MeHg) is a contaminant of global concern that bioaccumulates and bioamagnifies in marine food webs. Lower trophic level fauna are important conduits of MeHg from sediment and water to estuarine and coastal fish harvested for human consumption. However, the sources and pathways of MeHg to these coastal fisheries are poorly known particularly the potential for transfer of MeHg from the sediment to biotic compartments. Across a broad gradient of human land impacts, we analyzed MeHg concentrations in food webs at ten estuarine sites in the Northeast US (from the Hackensack Meadowlands, NJ to the Gulf of Maine). MeHg concentrations in water column particulate material, but not in sediments, were predictive of MeHg concentrations in fish (killifish and Atlantic silversides). Moreover, MeHg concentrations were higher in pelagic fauna than in benthic-feeding fauna suggesting that MeHg delivery to the water column from methylation sites from within or outside of the estuary may be an important driver of MeHg bioaccumulation in estuarine pelagic food webs. In contrast, bulk sediment MeHg concentrations were only predictive of concentrations of MeHg in the infaunal worms. Our results across a broad gradient of sites demonstrate that the pathways of MeHg to lower trophic level estuarine organisms are distinctly different between benthic deposit feeders and forage fish. Thus, even in systems with contaminated sediments, transfer of MeHg into estuarine food webs maybe driven more by the efficiency of processes that determine MeHg input and bioavailability in the water column.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

PloS one

DOI

EISSN

1932-6203

ISSN

1932-6203

Publication Date

January 2014

Volume

9

Issue

2

Start / End Page

e89305

Related Subject Headings

  • Seawater
  • Nitrogen Isotopes
  • New England
  • Methylmercury Compounds
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Linear Models
  • Humans
  • Geologic Sediments
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fundulidae
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Chen, C. Y., Borsuk, M. E., Bugge, D. M., Hollweg, T., Balcom, P. H., Ward, D. M., … Mason, R. P. (2014). Benthic and pelagic pathways of methylmercury bioaccumulation in estuarine food webs of the northeast United States. PloS One, 9(2), e89305. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089305
Chen, Celia Y., Mark E. Borsuk, Deenie M. Bugge, Terill Hollweg, Prentiss H. Balcom, Darren M. Ward, Jason Williams, and Robert P. Mason. “Benthic and pelagic pathways of methylmercury bioaccumulation in estuarine food webs of the northeast United States.PloS One 9, no. 2 (January 2014): e89305. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0089305.
Chen CY, Borsuk ME, Bugge DM, Hollweg T, Balcom PH, Ward DM, et al. Benthic and pelagic pathways of methylmercury bioaccumulation in estuarine food webs of the northeast United States. PloS one. 2014 Jan;9(2):e89305.
Chen, Celia Y., et al. “Benthic and pelagic pathways of methylmercury bioaccumulation in estuarine food webs of the northeast United States.PloS One, vol. 9, no. 2, Jan. 2014, p. e89305. Epmc, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0089305.
Chen CY, Borsuk ME, Bugge DM, Hollweg T, Balcom PH, Ward DM, Williams J, Mason RP. Benthic and pelagic pathways of methylmercury bioaccumulation in estuarine food webs of the northeast United States. PloS one. 2014 Jan;9(2):e89305.

Published In

PloS one

DOI

EISSN

1932-6203

ISSN

1932-6203

Publication Date

January 2014

Volume

9

Issue

2

Start / End Page

e89305

Related Subject Headings

  • Seawater
  • Nitrogen Isotopes
  • New England
  • Methylmercury Compounds
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Linear Models
  • Humans
  • Geologic Sediments
  • General Science & Technology
  • Fundulidae