Mercury Concentrations in Recent and Ninety-Year-Old Benthopelagic Fish

Several species of bottom-dwelling fish from 2500 meters with similar feeding habits had mercury concentrations that differed by an order of magnitude. Within one species there was a correlation between size and concentration with the larger individuals having mercury concentrations as high as 0.8 p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1972-11, Vol.178 (4061), p.636-639
Main Authors: Barber, Richard T., Vijayakumar, Aiyasami, Cross, Ford A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Enzymes
Fish
Fishes
Hepatocellular carcinoma
Liver
Marine
Marine fishes
Mercury
Mercury - analysis
Muscles - analysis
Ocean fisheries
Oceans
RNA
Sea water
Seawater - analysis
Water Pollution, Chemical - analysis
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Summary:Several species of bottom-dwelling fish from 2500 meters with similar feeding habits had mercury concentrations that differed by an order of magnitude. Within one species there was a correlation between size and concentration with the larger individuals having mercury concentrations as high as 0.8 part per million (wet weight). The mercury content of the water in the deep-ocean habitat of these fish appears not to determine the mercury content of a particular fish; species-specific factors and size do appear to determine this concentration. The species-specific variation between the recent fish also existed between the same two species in specimens collected 90 years ago from a depth of 2000 meters and a 90-year-old specimen fit closely the size-concentration regression curve for nine recent individuals of the same species.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.178.4061.636