1513 / 2024-09-27 20:55:46
Mercury Biomagnification of Total Mercury in Benthic and Pelagic Foodwebs in Rayong Bay, Gulf of Thailand
Gulf of Thailand,Mercury,Biomagnification
Session 57 - Contaminants across the marine continuum: behavior, fate and ecological risk assessment
Abstract Accepted
Suriyapong Kumsopar / Chulalongkorn University
Chawalit Charoenpong / Chulalongkorn University
Shaoneng He / Nanyang Technological University
Paco Bustamante / University of La Rochelle
Narainrit Chinfak / Chulalongkorn University
Bernie Wee / Nanyang Technological University
Xianfeng Wang / Nanyang Technological University
Penjai Sompongchaiyakul / Chulalongkorn University
Mercury contamination poses a serious threat to marine ecosystems due to its toxicity, persistence, and ability to accumulate in organisms. To understand how mercury moves through the food chain in Rayong Bay in the Gulf of Thailand, we analyzed mercury concentrations and stable isotope ratios in various marine organisms and calculated trophic magnification factors (TMFs). From the total mercury content (T-Hg) in plankton (phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish larvae) and muscle tissue of 81 marine animal species were analyzed, we found that mercury levels increase as you move up the food chain in both pelagic and benthic ecosystems. While both food webs show evidence of mercury biomagnification, the pelagic food web (TMF=6.68) has a much steeper increase in mercury levels compared to the benthic food web (TMF=2.06). Here in this presentation, comparison between Rayong Bay and other regions will be made and the need to further explore Hg biomagnification in tropical seas will be discussed.