Stable sulfur isotopes identify habitat-specific foraging and mercury exposure in a highly mobile fish community.

Title Stable sulfur isotopes identify habitat-specific foraging and mercury exposure in a highly mobile fish community.
Authors M.K. Carr; T.D. Jardine; L.E. Doig; P.D. Jones; L. Bharadwaj; B. Tendler; J. Chételat; P. Cott; K.E. Lindenschmidt
Journal Sci Total Environ
DOI 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.013
Abstract

Tracking the uptake and transfer of toxic chemicals, such as mercury (Hg), in aquatic systems is challenging when many top predators are highly mobile and may therefore be exposed to chemicals in areas other than their location of capture, confounding interpretation of bioaccumulation trends. Here we show how the application of a less commonly used ecological tracer, stable sulfur isotope ratios ((34)S/(32)S, or ?(34)S), in a large river-delta-lake complex in northern Canada allows differentiation of resident from migrant fishes, beyond what was possible with more conventional (13)C/(12)C and (15)N/(14)N measurements. Though all large fishes (n=105) were captured in the river, the majority (76%) had ?(34)S values that were indicative of the fish having been reared in the lake. These migrant fishes were connected to a food chain with greater Hg trophic magnification relative to the resident fish of the river and delta. Yet, despite a shallower overall trophic magnification slope, large river-resident fish had higher Hg concentrations owing to a greater biomagnification of Hg between small and large fishes. These findings reveal how S isotopes can trace fish feeding habitats in large freshwater systems and better account for fish movement in complex landscapes with differential exposure pathways and conditions.

Citation M.K. Carr; T.D. Jardine; L.E. Doig; P.D. Jones; L. Bharadwaj; B. Tendler; J. Chételat; P. Cott; K.E. Lindenschmidt.Stable sulfur isotopes identify habitat-specific foraging and mercury exposure in a highly mobile fish community.. Sci Total Environ. 2017;586:338346. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.02.013

Related Elements

Sulfur

16 S 32.065000000 Sulfur

See more Sulfur products. Sulfur (or Sulphur) (atomic symbol: S, atomic number: 16) is a Block P, Group 16, Period 3 element with an atomic radius of 32.066. Sulfur Bohr ModelThe number of electrons in each of Sulfur's shells is 2, 8, 6 and its electron configuration is [Ne] 3s2 3p4. In its elemental form, sulfur has a light yellow appearance. The sulfur atom has a covalent radius of 105 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 180 pm. In nature, sulfur can be found in hot springs, meteorites, volcanoes, and as galena, gypsum, and epsom salts. Sulfur has been known since ancient times but was not accepted as an element until 1777, when Antoine Lavoisier helped to convince the scientific community that it was an element and not a compound.

Mercury

80 Hg 200.590000000 Mercury

Mercury Bohr ModelSee more Mercury products. Mercury (atomic symbol: Hg, atomic number: 80) is a Block D, Group 12, Period 6 element with an atomic weight of 200.59. The number of electrons in each of mercury's shells is 2, 8, 18,32, 18, 2 and its electron configuration is [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2. The mercury atom has a radius of 151 pm and a Van der Waals radius of 209 pm. It is named after the planet Mercury and often referred to as "quicksilver" due to its appearance as a silvery liquid. Mercury has low melting and boiling points. It is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity. Mercury is found both as a free element and in cinnabar, corderoite, and livingstonite ores.

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