WEI Zhong-qing
( Key Laboratory of Pollution Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Institute of Applied Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenyang110016, China)

 

Abstract: Fish digestion is one of the dominant pathways of mercury exposure for human beings. Total Hg and methyl Hg concentrations as well as the isotopes of 13C and 15N were determined in some fish species collected from a large, shallow, eutrophic lake, Dianchi. The results showed that the average total Hg and methyl Hg are within the ranges of 5.6~287 ng/g (74±59 ng/g) and 2.7~400 ng/g (73±67 ng/g), respectively. The correlation coefficient (R2) between total Hg and methyl Hg is 0.65 (p< 0.001), and over 80 % of Hg in fish is presented as methyl Hg on average, indicating that the dominant form of Hg in fish from Lake Dianchi is methyl Hg. No significant relationship between Hg concentration and the ratio of δ13C to δ15N was observed, possibly due to different food sources of Erythroculter ilishaeformis Bleeker and Pelteobagrus fulvidraco. In addition, inhomogeneity of mass and age of the collected fish species may be a potential reason.

Key words: Lake Dianchi; fish; mercury; isotope

EARTH AND ENVIRONMENT Vol. 42, No.4, Tot No.300, 2014, Page 480-483