Methylmercury Accumulation in Plankton on the Continental Margin of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

Accumulation of monomethylmercury (MMHg) by plankton is a key process influencing concentrations of this toxic mercury species in marine food webs and seafood. We examined bioaccumulation and biomagnification of MMHg in microseston and four size fractions of zooplankton on the continental shelf, slope, and rise of the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The bioaccumulation factor (BAF, L/kg) for MMHg in microseston averaged 10(4.3±0.3) among 21 locations, and concentrations were unrelated to those in colocated, filtered surface water. Instead, concentrations and the BAF of MMHg in microseston were related inversely with total suspended solids in surface water, a proxy for planktonic biomass at these remote locations. MMHg was biomagnified by a factor of 4 from microseston to zooplankton, and both concentrations of MMHg and the fraction of total mercury as MMHg increased with larger size fractions of zooplankton. These results suggest that the initial magnitude of MMHg uptake into pelagic marine food webs is influenced by the degree of primary production in surface waters and propagated up through large zooplankton. Accordingly, biological productivity, in addition to inputs of MMHg to surface waters, must be considered when predicting how MMHg bioaccumulation will vary spatially and temporally in the ocean.