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Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Sources and trophic transfer of trace metals in wild fish from coastal areas in the South China Sea

Wenfeng Zhang https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2064-4917 A * , Guanwen Zhang A , Huaming Yu B , Peng Cheng C and Pengran Guo A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center of Rapid Testing Instrument for Food Nutrition and Safety, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Measurement and Emergency Test Technology, Institute of Analysis, Guangdong Academy of Sciences (China National Analytical Center, Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 510070, PR China.

B Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, PR China.

C State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, CAS Center for Excellence in Deep Earth Science, Guangzhou, 510640, PR China.

* Correspondence to: wenfengzhang08@126.com

Handling Editor: Wan Zhanhong

Marine and Freshwater Research - https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22120
Submitted: 13 June 2022  Accepted: 24 November 2022   Published online: 23 January 2023

© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing

Abstract

Context: Wild fish is a good source of minerals and other high-quality nutrition; however, many wild fish species potentially accumulate hazardous metals, making them a threat to human health.

Aims: The aim was to study characteristics and the source of metals in wild fish in the South China Sea by using, for the first time, the correlation of trace metals and stable isotopes.

Methods: Analytical instruments and statistical methods were respectively used to determine elements and the relative correlations.

Key results: Lead (Pb) and manganese (Mn) tended to accumulate in bluespot mullet and Macao tonguesole. Variation among fish species and spatial differences might be two important factors influencing both the metal concentrations and the selenium (Se):mercury (Hg) molar ratios in biota. Hg, Mn, Pb and tin (Sn) tended to be biomagnified with an increasing trophic level, whereas chromium (Cr) and copper (Cu) showed a trend of biodilution.

Conclusions: The Se:Hg molar ratios exhibited noticeable species and spatial variation for the wild fish, whereas the main sources of Sn and Pb contamination might be antifouling reagents and surface applications.

Implications: The speciation of the elements is worth investigating next, so as to obtain valuable insight into the state of the wild environment and the impacts to human wellbeing.

Keywords: biomagnification, environmental monitoring, food web, marine fish, methyl mercury, stable isotopes, trace metals, trophic levels.


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