| Age and trophic position dominate bioaccumulation of mercury and organochlorines in the food web of Lake Washington. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 17157357 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Understanding the mechanisms of bioaccumulation in food webs is critical to predicting which food webs are at risk for higher rates of bioaccumulation that endanger the health of upper-trophic predators, including humans. Mercury and organochlorines were measured concurrently with stable isotopes of nitrogen and carbon in key fishes and invertebrates of Lake Washington to explore important pathways of bioaccumulation in this food web. Across the food web, age and trophic position together were highly significant predictors of bioaccumulation. Trophic position was more important than age for predicting accumulation of mercury, sigmaDDT, and sigma-chlordane, whereas age was more important than trophic position for predicting sigmaPCB. Excluding age from the analysis inflated the apparent importance of trophic position to bioaccumulation for all contaminants. Benthic and pelagic habitats had similar potential to bioaccumulate contaminants, although higher sigma-chlordane concentrations in organisms were weakly associated with more benthic carbon signals. In individual fish species, contaminant concentrations increased with age, size, and trophic position (delta15N), whereas relationships with carbon source (delta13C) were not consistent. Lipid concentrations were correlated with contaminant concentrations in some but not all fishes, suggesting that lipids were not involved mechanistically in bioaccumulation. Contaminant concentrations in biota did not vary among littoral sites. Collectively, these results suggest that age may be an important determinant of bioaccumulation in many food webs and could help explain a significant amount of the variability in apparent biomagnification rates among food webs. As such, effort should be made when possible to collect information on organism age in addition to stable isotopes when assessing food webs for rates of biomagnification. |
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Authors:
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Jenifer K McIntyre; David A Beauchamp |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Date: 2006-12-06 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The Science of the total environment Volume: 372 ISSN: 0048-9697 ISO Abbreviation: Sci. Total Environ. Publication Date: 2007 Jan |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2007-01-08 Completed Date: 2007-03-15 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0330500 Medline TA: Sci Total Environ Country: Netherlands |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 571-84 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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U.S. Geological Survey, Washington Cooperative Fisheries and Wildlife Research Unit, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, Box 355020, 1122 NE Boat St., Seattle, WA 98105, USA. jmcintyr@u.washington.edu |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Age Factors Animals Fishes / physiology Food Chain* Fresh Water Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / metabolism* Invertebrates / metabolism Mercury / metabolism* Predatory Behavior Washington Water Pollutants, Chemical / metabolism* |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; 0/Water Pollutants, Chemical; 7439-97-6/Mercury |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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