title: Model description of trophodynamic behavior of methylmercury in a marine aquatic system.
abstract: A marine food web in Bohai Bay, China, was selected to study methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation, and an aquivalence-based mass balance model was established to explore the possibility of predicting the MeHg concentrations and quantifying MeHg bioaccumulation in the food web. Results showed that both total mercury (THg) and MeHg were biomagnified in the food web. The calculated MeHg concentrations in the selected species agreed well with the measured values, which shows the model could be a useful tool in MeHg concentration prediction in food web. Model outputs also showed that metabolism and growth dilution could be the dominant mechanisms for the reduction of MeHg levels in aquatic organisms. With the increase of trophic level, the contribution of food as a MeHg source for organism is increasing, and MeHg from prey was the dominant source.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Education Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.
authors.forename: Yindong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xindi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Langbo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ou
authors.forename: Dan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Tianjun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D059001:Aquatic Organisms / Q000378:metabolism*; D061006:Bays / Q000737:chemistry; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D020387:Food Chain; D008767:Methylmercury Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*; D008956:Models, Chemical; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D008767:Methylmercury Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical