title: Mercury (Hg) speciation in coral reef systems of remote Oceania: Implications for the artisanal fisheries of Tutuila, Samoa Islands.
abstract: We investigated Hg in muscle tissue of fish species from three trophic levels on fringing reefs of Tutuila (14°S, 171°W), plus water, sediment and turf alga. Accumulation of total Hg in the herbivore Acanthurus lineatus (Acanthuridae, lined surgeonfish, (n=40)) was negligible at 1.05 (±0.04) ng g(-1) wet-weight, (∼65% occurring as methyl Hg). The mid-level carnivore Parupeneus spp. (Mullidae, goatfishes (n=10)) had total Hg 29.8 (±4.5) ng g(-1) wet-weight (∼99% as methyl Hg). Neither A. lineatus or Parupeneus spp. showed a propensity to accumulate Hg based on body size. Both groups were assigned a status of "un-restricted" for monthly consumption limits for non-carcinogenic health endpoints for methyl Hg. The top-level carnivore Sphyraena qenie (Sphyraenidae, blackfin barracuda, n=3) had muscle tissue residues of 105, 650 and 741 ng g(-1) wet-weight (100% methyl Hg, with increasing concentration with body mass, suggesting that S. qenie >15 kg would have a recommendation of "no consumption".
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia. Electronic address: johnm@uow.edu.au.
authors.forename: R John
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Morrison
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia; Nimbus Environmental Services, PO Box 72, Hilo, HI 96721, USA.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Peshut
authors.affiliation: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia.
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: West
authors.affiliation: Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Sequim, WA 98382, USA.
authors.forename: Brenda K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Lasorsa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058448:Biota / Q000187:drug effects; D057894:Coral Reefs; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005398:Fisheries; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D044349:Oceania; D010473:Perciformes / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D018947:Samoa; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Artisanal fisheries; Bio-accumulation; Coral reefs; Mercury; Remote ecosystems