Abstract
Mercury (Hg), aside from having high toxicity, is characterized by its ability to biomagnify in the marine trophic chain. This is an important problem especially in estuaries, or in the coastal zone, particularly near the mouths of large rivers. This study was conducted in the years 2001–2011, in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea near to the mouth of the River Vistula, which is the second biggest river discharging into the Baltic. Mercury concentration was measured in the tissues and organs of cod, flounder, herring, seals (living in the wild and in captivity), great black-backed gulls, and African penguins from Gdańsk Zoo, and also in human hair. Penguins and seals at the seal sanctuary in Hel were fed only herring. In marine birds and mammals and in the pelagic herring, the highest Hg concentration was observed in the kidney and in the liver, while in cod and flounder (located on a higher trophic level) the muscles were the most contaminated with mercury. In gray seals living in the seal sanctuary, Hg concentration in all analyzed tissues and organs except the kidneys was lower in comparison with seals living in the wild. The comparatively small share of fish in the diet of local Polish people and their preference towards the consumption of herring contributed to low concentration of Hg in their hair. The protective mechanisms related to detoxification and elimination of mercury were shown to be more effective in the seals than in the penguins, despite the former consuming around 10 times more food per day.
Highlights
Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic metals
Total mercury concentrations in the muscle tissues of commercial fish collected in the Polish coastal zone of the southern Baltic have been observed to decrease on a multi-year scale (Polak-Juszczak 2009; Falkowska et al 2010; Polak-Juszczak 2010)
The fishes caught in the Polish coastal zone of the Baltic Sea were not more contaminated with mercury than the same species from other regions of the Baltic, and the obtained results demonstrate the lack of regional differences between fish of the same species when it comes to mercury levels
Summary
Mercury (Hg) is one of the most toxic metals. It performs no known functions in living organisms and, in both humans and animals, demonstrates nephrotoxicity, immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, and mutagenicity (O’Shea 1999). The negative impact of Hg on human health has caused its concentrations to be monitored in many parts of the world, including the Baltic Sea (HELCOM), with studies tending to focus on the muscles, liver, and kidneys of fish, marine mammals, and birds. Higher concentrations of this metal are found in the livers of marine mammals than in terrestrial mammals and, in the case of seals, it is estimated that an excessive concentration of Hg close to 60 μg g−1 causes damage to that organ (AMAP 1998). High concentrations of Hg were determined in dead ringed seals (Phoca hispida, Schreber 1775) (Fant et al 2001; Nymann et al 2003), gray seals (Halichoerus grypus, Fabricius 1791) (Ciesielski et al 2006), and harbor seals (Phoca vitulina, Linnaeus, 1758) (Ciesielski at al. 2006) in the course of several
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