Mercury levels in muscle of six species of turtles eaten by people along the Rio Negro of the Amazon basin.

Mercury levels in the Amazon River are generally high, but there are no published studies on Hg levels in turtles from the region. In this study, levels of Hg were examined in the muscle of six species of turtles in the Rio Negro in the Amazon basin of Brazil, including Podocnemis unifilis, Podocnemis expansa, Podocnemis erythrocephala, Podocnemis sextuberculata, Peltocephalus dumerilianus, and Chelus fimbriatus. It is important to analyze Hg levels in chelonians in this region because of the potential health risk to humans and other receptors that eat them, as well as their potential use as bioindicators. The effect of sex, weight, and carapace length on Hg concentrations in turtle muscle was examined to determine if the levels represent a health risk to riverine people. There was a significant interspecific difference in Hg levels but no differences as a function of size or gender. The highest Hg level was found in Chelus fimbriatus (mean = 432 ppb, standard deviation +/- 196 ppb), followed by Peltocephalus dumerilianus (106 +/- 41 ppb), Podocnemis expansa (62 +/- 49 ppb), P. sextuberculata (61 +/- 40 ppb), P. unilifis (35 +/- 17 ppb), and P. erythrocephala (33.1 +/- 17 ppb). Of the species studied, the piscivorous C. fimbriatus had the highest Hg level. Hg levels in turtles were similar to the levels found in fish from the same basin. Levels of Hg in the muscle of C. fimbriatus are sufficiently high to pose a potential risk to humans who consume them. This study represents the first comparative study of Hg levels in muscle of six species of turtles.

Mercury bioacumulation in four tissues of Podocnemis erythrocephala (Podocnemididae: Testudines) as a function of water parameters.

A number of environmental factors influence the dynamics of Hg in aquatic ecosystems, yet few studies have examined these factors for turtles, especially from South America. Red-headed river turtle (Podocnemis erythrocephala) is easy to capture in the black waters of Rio Negro, making it the turtle species that is consumed most often by people of the region. In this study, environmental factors and turtle size were investigated to determine their influence on the Hg concentration in blood, muscle, liver and carapace of the red-headed river turtle. Factors investigated included turtle length, pH, dissolved organic carbon and availability of potential methylation sites (floodplain forests and hydromorphic soils). The study was conducted in the Rio Negro basin, where we collected water and turtle blood, muscle, liver and carapace samples from 12 tributaries for chemical analysis. Through radar imagery and existing soil maps with GIS, the percentage of alluvial floodplains and hydromorphic soils (potential methylation sites) was estimated for each drainage basin at sampling points. The mean Hg concentration in blood of P. erythrocephala was 1.64 ng g(-1) (SD=1.36), muscle 33 ng g(-1) (SD=11), liver 470 ng g(-1) (SD=313) and carapace 68 ng g(-1) (SD=32). Sex or length did not influence the Hg concentration in P. erythrocephala blood, muscle and liver, but Hg increased in carapace tissue when length size increased (ANCOVA p=0.007). In the multiple regression analysis, none of the environmental factors studied had a significant relation with blood, muscle, liver and carapace. P. erythrocephala moves among habitats and in the open and interconnected aquatic systems of the Amazon basin, characterized by high levels of limnological variability, a good bioindicator of Hg concentration needs to be relatively sedentary to represent a specific habitat. However, the levels of Hg in liver were sufficient to pose a potential risk to humans that consume them, suggesting the usefulness of P. erythrocephala as a bioindicator.

Factors controlling Hg levels in two predatory fish species in the Negro river basin, Brazilian Amazon.

A number of environmental factors have been shown to influence the dynamics of Hg in aquatic ecosystems. Here we investigate the influence of fish size, pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and the availability of potential methylation sites (floodplain forests and hydromorphic soils) on the concentration of total Hg in two carnivorous fishes: Cichla spp. and Hoplias malabaricus in the Negro River, Brazil. Fish and water samples for chemical analysis were collected from 33 sites in the Negro basin. The percentage of alluvial floodplains and hydromorphic soils (potential methylation sites) in the drainage basin upstream from each sampling point was estimated from radar imagery and existing soil maps with GIS. The average of Hg concentrations were 0.337 ppm (SD=0.244) in Cichla spp. and 0.350 ppm (SD=0.250) in H. malabaricus. Although the study area was geographically isolated from most major anthropogenic Hg sources, over 18% of Cichla spp. and 29% of H. malabaricus had Hg concentrations above 0.5 ppm, indicating naturally high background levels of Hg. Hg concentrations increased with size in both Cichla spp. (r(2)=0.664, p=0.000) and H. malabaricus (r(2)=0.299, p=0.000). Hg concentrations in H. malabaricus also increased with percent floodable area (p=0.006), pH (p=0.000) and DOC (0,063). In Cichla spp, Hg increased only in relation to percent floodable area (p=0.000). Hydromorphic soils did not influence fish Hg.