Abstract
Elasmobranchs are exposed to mercury (Hg) through a variety of pathways in the environment. This study assessed maternal offloading and diet-based Hg exposure for neonatal and juvenile blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus) from Charlotte Harbor located along southwest Florida’s coast, a recognized Hg hotspot. Neonates (n = 57) had highest total Hg (THg) concentrations in the kidney (0.56 ± 0.26 mg kg−1; n = 38) and muscle (0.53 ± 0.17 mg kg−1; n = 57), followed by liver (0.31 ± 0.11 mg kg−1; n = 38), and blood (0.05 ± 0.033 mg kg−1; n = 57). Juveniles (n = 13) exhibited a different distribution with highest THg in the liver (0.868 ± 0.54 mg kg−1; n = 6), followed by the muscle (0.84 ± 0.28 mg kg−1; n = 13), kidney (0.55 ± 0.22 mg kg−1; n = 6), and blood (0.11 ± 0.04 mg kg−1; n = 11). The distribution of THg among tissues and liver-to-muscle ratios indicated that Hg originated primarily from maternal offloading in neonates, whereas juveniles continued to accumulate Hg through dietary exposure post-parturition. Additionally, comparisons between results of the present study and previous Florida blacktip shark surveys suggested that Hg levels have not declined in southwest Florida estuaries for over two decades.
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The raw data is available upon request. No plants, plant materials, or cell lines were used in this study—so plant reproducibility is not applicable.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all the FGCU students and volunteers that provided field support on this project including: J. Hemberger, M. Scroggin, E. Krueger, V. Miller, J. Knoer, T. Stiehl, and J. Forbes. We would also like to thank Drs. G. Tolley and J. Douglass for their advice on early drafts of this paper and especially Dr. C. Campbell for his guidance on procedures used in this project. We would also like to thank our reviewers for their professional insight and feedback. Finally, we would like to thank C. Reistad and D. Norris for their assistance and support through the sampling, analysis, and writing processes. Funding for this work was provided by an internal grant from Florida Gulf Coast University.
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All three authors participated in sample collection and processing; Ms. Reistad and Mrs. Norris were each responsible for different analytical procedures, data analysis and interpretations (i.e., different thesis). Dr. Rumbold provided mentorship.
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Reistad, N.A., Norris, S.B. & Rumbold, D.G. Mercury in neonatal and juvenile blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatus). Part I: exposure assessment. Ecotoxicology 30, 187–197 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-020-02322-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-020-02322-0