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Environmental Significance of Mercury Content in Seafloor Sediments and Benthic Fish from the Offshores of Leizhou Peninsula, China

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Abstract

The mercury content in the seafloor sediments and benthic flathead fish collected from the offshore regions of Leizhou Peninsula was analyzed, and related mercury contamination was assessed. The results show that mercury content of seafloor sediments ranged from 0.005 to 0.359 mg kg−1 with an average of 0.081 mg kg−1. As a whole, the mercury content in the seafloor sediments of the eastern offshore region of Leizhou Peninsula was higher than that of southern and western offshore regions. Mercury content in fish organs of the branchial, muscle, and liver was in the range of 0.032 ~ 0.034 mg kg−1, 0.065 ~ 0.080 mg kg−1, and 0.228 ~ 0.270 mg kg−1, respectively, and displayed a mercury content order of the liver > muscle > branchial and a significant liver accumulation preference. The pollution assessment suggested that there is an ecological risk of mercury contamination in the eastern offshore region of Leizhou Peninsula, while the southern and western regions are in low risk of mercury pollution. Although the mercury content of the benthic fish is generally consistent with the mercury contamination level of seafloor sediments where the fish is captured, there is no clear correlation between the fish size and their mercury contents which may imply that there is low risk of mercury bioaccumulation in these benthic fish.

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Data Availability

The authors declare that all data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the Project of Marine Geochemistry and Climate Change of Guangdong Ocean University (No. 002026002004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Analytical and Testing Centre of Guangdong, Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China

    Guohuan Yang & Shengli Sun

  2. The College of Chemistry and Environment, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang, 524088, China

    Guohuan Yang, Yuan Gao & Zhiguang Song

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  1. Guohuan Yang
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Correspondence to Zhiguang Song.

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Highlights

• The mercury content in the seafloor sediments of the eastern peninsula was higher than that of the southern and western regions.

• The mercury contents of flathead fish samples showed the regularity of the liver > muscle > gill.

• The mercury content level in flathead fish is generally consistent with that of sediments.

• The mercury bioaccumulation risk is low in these benthic flathead fish.

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Yang, G., Gao, Y., Song, Z. et al. Environmental Significance of Mercury Content in Seafloor Sediments and Benthic Fish from the Offshores of Leizhou Peninsula, China. Water Air Soil Pollut 234, 539 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-023-06559-3

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