Selenium and mercury concentrations in some fish species of the Madeira River, Amazon Basin, Brazil

Samples of 7 species of piscivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous fish caught at 12 different sites on the Madeira River, Amazon Basin, were analyzed for selenium and mercury. Selenium was determined by anodic stripping voltammetry and mercury by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The me...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Biological trace element research 1998-12, Vol.65 (3), p.211-220
Main Authors: Dorea, J.G, Moreira, M.B, East, G, Barbosa, A.C
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Anodic stripping
Atomic absorption spectrophotometry
Bioaccumulation
Brazil
concentration
Fish
Fish populations
Fishes
Fresh Water
Freshwater
freshwater fish
Herbivores
Herbivorous fish
Herbivorous fishes
Ingestion
Mercury
Mercury (metal)
Mercury - analysis
Muscle, Skeletal - chemistry
pollutants
River basins
Rivers
Selenium
Selenium - analysis
Species
Species Specificity
Spectral analysis
Spectrophotometry
Statistical analysis
Stripping analysis
Trophic levels
tropics
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
water pollution
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Summary:Samples of 7 species of piscivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous fish caught at 12 different sites on the Madeira River, Amazon Basin, were analyzed for selenium and mercury. Selenium was determined by anodic stripping voltammetry and mercury by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The means for selenium concentrations ranged from 0.49 to 3.11 nmol/g and for mercury from 0.41 to 6.66 nmol/g depending on the fish species. The molar ratios of Hg:Se increased according to the fish trophic level. Piscivorous species had the highest mean ratio (4.0) and herbivorous species the lowest (0.9). There was a positive and statistically significant correlation between selenium and mercury concentrations for the herbivorous species (r = 0.716; p = 0.0088) not seen for omnivororus and piscivorous species (r = -0.2032; p = 0.3407). These findings are significant for the fish-eating population of the Madeira River because the ingestion of mercury would always be in excess of selenium.
ISSN:0163-4984
1559-0720
DOI:10.1007/BF02789097