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Mercury Status of the Amazon Continental Shelf: Guiana Dolphins (Sotalia guianensis, Van Benédén 1864) as a Bioindicator

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Abstract

Total mercury (Hg) was analyzed in muscle tissue of 27 accidentally captured Guiana dolphins (Sotalia guianensis) in order to evaluate Hg contamination levels present in the Amazon Continental Shelf, in Amapá state, North Brazil. The samples showed a mean concentration of 0.4 ± 0.16 μg/g wet weight (ww), ranging from 0.07 to 0.79 μg/g ww. As observed in several other cetacean species, Hg concentrations presented positive correlations to body length, related to the capacity to bioaccumulate this element throughout life. Hg concentrations were not significantly different between males (mean = 0.38 μg/g ww; n = 15) and females (mean = 0.42 μg/g ww; n = 12). Concentrations were low when compared to results of studies carried out with small cetaceans in the Northern Hemisphere, and with some previous studies in the south-eastern region of Brazil. In contrast with high Hg concentrations normally detected in river dolphin samples from Amazon River tributaries, our results suggest that the Amazon coast contains low levels of Hg in bioavailable form.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the laboratory team from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) for the help during analyses and the aquatic mammal research group of Amazon (GEMAM) for its field work and data collection. J.F. de Moura had a fellowship from Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (FIOCRUZ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. PPG em Saúde Pública e Meio Ambiente, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil

    Jailson Fulgencio de Moura & Renata Emin-Lima

  2. Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Marinhos da Região dos Lagos, GEMM-Lagos, ENSP, FIOCRUZ, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões 1480, 6° andar, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21041-210, Brazil

    Jailson Fulgencio de Moura & Salvatore Siciliano

  3. Departamento de Endemias, Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública (ENSP), FIOCRUZ, Rua Leopoldo Bulhões 1480, 6° andar, Manguinhos, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21041-210, Brazil

    Sandra S. Hacon & Salvatore Siciliano

  4. Departamento de Química, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rua Marquês de São Vicente 225, Gávea, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 22453-900, Brazil

    Claudia Maribel Vega & Reinaldo Calixto de Campos

  5. Grupo de Estudos de Mamíferos Aquáticos da Amazônia (GEMAM), Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG), Belém, PA, Brazil

    Renata Emin-Lima

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  1. Jailson Fulgencio de Moura
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  2. Renata Emin-Lima
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Correspondence to Jailson Fulgencio de Moura.

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de Moura, J.F., Emin-Lima, R., Hacon, S.S. et al. Mercury Status of the Amazon Continental Shelf: Guiana Dolphins (Sotalia guianensis, Van Benédén 1864) as a Bioindicator. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 89, 412–418 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-012-0663-2

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