“…Bioconcentration factors (BCF) were calculated using methods described by Azad et al . 46 , and utilizing the following formula: log ([Hg organism ]/[Hg fog ]), where Hg was THg or MMHg (Fig. 4).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The highest BCF found was between puma THg and fog MMHg (6.0). Several authors report that MMHg undergoes more efficient trophic transfer, across a wide array of species, and is more bioavailable compared with THg 46–48 , which is consistent with our hypothesis that fog water MMHg is disproportionately transferred between trophic levels compared with inorganic Hg from other sources.Figure 4Concentrations of THg and MMHg in rain (sampled 2014–2015), fog (sampled 2014–2015), lichen (sampled 2017), deer (sampled 2008–2012), and puma (sampled 2006–2014). All samples are restricted to locations in the coastal central California, USA region.…”
Coastal marine atmospheric fog has recently been implicated as a potential source of ocean-derived monomethylmercury (MMHg) to coastal terrestrial ecosystems through the process of sea-to-land advection of foggy air masses followed by wet deposition. This study examined whether pumas (Puma concolor) in coastal central California, USA, and their associated food web, have elevated concentrations of MMHg, which could be indicative of their habitat being in a region that is regularly inundated with marine fog. We found that adult puma fur and fur-normalized whiskers in our marine fog-influenced study region had a mean (±SE) total Hg (THg) (a convenient surrogate for MMHg) concentration of 1544 ± 151 ng g−1 (N = 94), which was three times higher (P < 0.01) than mean THg in comparable samples from inland areas of California (492 ± 119 ng g−1, N = 18). Pumas in California eat primarily black-tailed and/or mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and THg in deer fur from the two regions was also significantly different (coastal 28.1 ± 2.9, N = 55, vs. inland 15.5 ± 1.5 ng g−1, N = 40). We suggest that atmospheric deposition of MMHg through fog may be contributing to this pattern, as we also observed significantly higher MMHg concentrations in lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii), a deer food and a bioindicator of atmospheric deposition, at sites with the highest fog frequencies. At these ocean-facing sites, deer samples had significantly higher THg concentrations compared to those from more inland bay-facing sites. Our results suggest that fog-borne MMHg, while likely a small fraction of Hg in all atmospheric deposition, may contribute, disproportionately, to the bioaccumulation of Hg to levels that approach toxicological thresholds in at least one apex predator. As global mercury levels increase, coastal food webs may be at risk to the toxicological effects of increased methylmercury burdens.
“…Bioconcentration factors (BCF) were calculated using methods described by Azad et al . 46 , and utilizing the following formula: log ([Hg organism ]/[Hg fog ]), where Hg was THg or MMHg (Fig. 4).…”
Section: Resultsmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The highest BCF found was between puma THg and fog MMHg (6.0). Several authors report that MMHg undergoes more efficient trophic transfer, across a wide array of species, and is more bioavailable compared with THg 46–48 , which is consistent with our hypothesis that fog water MMHg is disproportionately transferred between trophic levels compared with inorganic Hg from other sources.Figure 4Concentrations of THg and MMHg in rain (sampled 2014–2015), fog (sampled 2014–2015), lichen (sampled 2017), deer (sampled 2008–2012), and puma (sampled 2006–2014). All samples are restricted to locations in the coastal central California, USA region.…”
Coastal marine atmospheric fog has recently been implicated as a potential source of ocean-derived monomethylmercury (MMHg) to coastal terrestrial ecosystems through the process of sea-to-land advection of foggy air masses followed by wet deposition. This study examined whether pumas (Puma concolor) in coastal central California, USA, and their associated food web, have elevated concentrations of MMHg, which could be indicative of their habitat being in a region that is regularly inundated with marine fog. We found that adult puma fur and fur-normalized whiskers in our marine fog-influenced study region had a mean (±SE) total Hg (THg) (a convenient surrogate for MMHg) concentration of 1544 ± 151 ng g−1 (N = 94), which was three times higher (P < 0.01) than mean THg in comparable samples from inland areas of California (492 ± 119 ng g−1, N = 18). Pumas in California eat primarily black-tailed and/or mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), and THg in deer fur from the two regions was also significantly different (coastal 28.1 ± 2.9, N = 55, vs. inland 15.5 ± 1.5 ng g−1, N = 40). We suggest that atmospheric deposition of MMHg through fog may be contributing to this pattern, as we also observed significantly higher MMHg concentrations in lace lichen (Ramalina menziesii), a deer food and a bioindicator of atmospheric deposition, at sites with the highest fog frequencies. At these ocean-facing sites, deer samples had significantly higher THg concentrations compared to those from more inland bay-facing sites. Our results suggest that fog-borne MMHg, while likely a small fraction of Hg in all atmospheric deposition, may contribute, disproportionately, to the bioaccumulation of Hg to levels that approach toxicological thresholds in at least one apex predator. As global mercury levels increase, coastal food webs may be at risk to the toxicological effects of increased methylmercury burdens.
“…Lead is often found in lead-contaminated house dust, residential soil, lead-based paints, glazed food containers, and drinking water [186, 187]. Contaminated seafood is considered the main source of mercury intake [188]. In utero exposure to heavy metals is detrimental for the fetus and mainly causes neurological disorders and cancers in the offspring [189].…”
Section: Prenatal Environmental Pollution and Epigenetic Dysregulationmentioning
It is thought that germ cells and preimplantation embryos during development are most susceptible to endogenous and exogenous environmental factors because the epigenome in those cells is undergoing dramatic elimination and reconstruction. Exposure to environmental factors such as nutrition, climate, stress, pathogens, toxins, and even social behavior during gametogenesis and early embryogenesis has been shown to influence disease susceptibility in the offspring. Early-life epigenetic modifications, which determine the expression of genetic information stored in the genome, are viewed as one of the general mechanisms linking prenatal exposure and phenotypic changes later in life. From atmospheric pollution, endocrine-disrupting chemicals to heavy metals, research increasingly suggests that environmental pollutions have already produced significant consequences on human health. Moreover, mounting evidence now links such pollution to relevant modification in the epigenome. The epigenetics diet, referring to a class of bioactive dietary compounds such as isothiocyanates in broccoli, genistein in soybean, resveratrol in grape, epigallocatechin-3-gallate in green tea, and ascorbic acid in fruits, has been shown to modify the epigenome leading to beneficial health outcomes. This review will primarily focus on the causes and consequences of prenatal environment pollution exposure on the epigenome, and the potential protective role of the epigenetics diet, which could play a central role in neutralizing epigenomic aberrations against environmental pollutions.
“…For example, in contaminated areas, larger individuals of the same species contain higher levels of mercury, than smaller individuals. Contaminant concentrations in different species are known and disseminated broadly (https://sjomatdata.hi.no/#search/; Julshamn et al 2011;Azad et al 2019). Through follow-up studies, temporal trends are assessed (Nostbakken et al 2015).…”
Section: Sampling Regimes and Strategy For Seafood Safety Evaluationsmentioning
Surveillance of seafood for microplastic is in high demand, but there are challenges in the establishment of appropriate methods. Even though there are more than hundred scientific publications presenting numbers about the occurrence of plastics in seafood organisms, currently, these numbers are largely not comparable and afflicted with high uncertainty. They represent rather pioneering work, than surveillance. The research field is developing rapidly, continuously challenging and updating definitions and descriptions on the location, quality and quantity of microplastic. A major reason behind those challenges is of a new type, due to the particular nature of this pollutant, as opposed to other previously analyzed pollutants, which are soluble. When dealing with particle uptake into organisms, we claim that it is pivotal to take into account the size and shape of the particles. Most often, only plastic particles above several hundred μm and only from the gastrointestinal tract were included in field studies, typically leading to observations of on average 0-3 particles per fish. However, for both seafood organisms and human health, plastic particles in edible tissue are of higher concern, than those passing through the gastrointestinal system. According to exposure studies, the size of microlitter particles that are most likely to be transported into tissue and have accumulation potential, is lower than 50 μm. The few publications investigating the smaller size classes and tissues, do detect and report microlitter contamination, and therefore, warrant further investigation. Additionally, appropriate quality control needs to be included, and measurement uncertainties assessed.
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