title: Bioaccumulation of arsenic species in rays from the northern Adriatic Sea.
abstract: The difference in arsenic concentration and speciation between benthic (Pteromylaeus bovinus, Myliobatis aquila) and pelagic rays (Pteroplatytrygon violacea) from the northern Adriatic Sea (Gulf of Trieste) in relation to their size (age) was investigated. High arsenic concentrations were found in both groups with tendency of more efficient arsenic accumulation in benthic species, particularly in muscle (32.4 to 362 µg·g-1 of total arsenic). This was attributed to species differences in arsenic access, uptake and retention. In liver most arsenic was present in a form of arsenobetaine, dimethylarsinic acid and arsenoipids, whereas in muscle mainly arsenobetaine was found. The good correlations between total arsenic/arsenobetaine and size reflect the importance of accumulation of arsenobetaine with age. Arsenobetaine is an analogue of glycine betaine, a known osmoregulator in marine animals and both are very abundant in mussels, representing an important source of food for benthic species P. bovinus and M. aquila.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. zdenka.slejkovec@ijs.si.
authors.forename: Zdenka
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Šlejkovec
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. anja.stajnko@ijs.si.
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stajnko
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. Ingrid.falnoga@ijs.si.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Falnoga
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornače 41, Piran 6330, Slovenia. lovrenc.lipej@mbss.org.
authors.forename: Lovrenc
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lipej
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. darja.mazej@ijs.si.
authors.forename: Darja
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mazej
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Sciences, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. milena.horvat@ijs.si.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Horvat
authors.affiliation: Marine Biology Station, National Institute of Biology, Fornače 41, Piran 6330, Slovenia. jadran.faganeli@mbss.org.
authors.forename: Jadran
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Faganeli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001151:Arsenic / Q000378:metabolism*; D049628:Body Size; D001835:Body Weight; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012860:Skates, Fish / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic