A Meta-Analysis of Mercury Biomagnification in Freshwater Predatory Invertebrates: Community Diversity and Dietary Exposure Drive Variability.

ABSTRACT: Accurate estimates of methylmercury (MeHg) exposure are valuable to actionably assess risk and protect wildlife and human health. MeHg trophic transfer is a critical driver of risk: MeHg is generally biomagnified by a factor of 8.3 ± 7.5 from one trophic level to the next, averaged across freshwater communities (mean ± standard deviation). This variability can produce disparate risks even where basal MeHg concentrations are similar. Taxonomy may be one driver of this variability: physiologically diverse groups, like vertebrates and invertebrates, may assimilate MeHg differently. To determine whether taxonomy affects trophic transfer efficiency, we conducted a meta-analysis characterizing predatory invertebrate MeHg biomagnification. Our analyses estimated that freshwater predatory inverteb

SUBMITTER: Sinclair CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11526377 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature