Abstract
To elucidate the trophic pathways and bioaccumulation characteristics of heavy metals in marine fish, 20 Sardinella albella specimens of different lengths were collected from Liusha Bay in Beibu Gulf of South China Sea and aimed to study their trophic level and heavy metal pollution. The results showed that their δ13C values ranged from −17.61 to −15.99‰ with an average of −16.59 ± 0.54‰, which was comparable with that of zooplankton. The δ15N values ranged from 12.73to 15.26‰ with an average of 14.03 ± 0.71‰, which was 3.47‰ greater than zooplankton. No trend in δ13C and δ15N values was observed with increasing body length. The trophic level, consisting with their feeding diet, ranges from 2.24 to 3.25 with an average of 2.76. Heavy metal content of Sardinella albella in Liusha Bay was in order of As > Pb > Zn > Hg > Cu, Cd, and most of these metals were below the pollution thresholds. The Pi index suggested that Sardinella albella were slightly polluted by Pb and As.
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