Increasing mercury bioaccumulation and biomagnification rates of Nile perch (Lates niloticus L.) in Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria, Kenya.

ABSTRACT: The Nile perch (Lates niloticus L.) commercial fishery for Lake Victoria in East Africa is an important source of revenue and employment. We focused on shifts in food web structure and total mercury (THg) bioaccumulation and biomagnification in Nile perch, and lower food web items collected from Winam Gulf (Kenya) sampled 24 years apart (1998 and 2022). Stable isotope carbon (δ¹³C) values were higher in all species from 2022 compared to 1998. Stable nitrogen isotope (δ¹⁵N) values in baseline organisms were lower in 2022 compared to 1998. In Nile perch, δ¹⁵N values were correlated with total length, but the δ¹⁵N-length regressions were steeper in 1998 compared to 2022 except for one large (158 cm) Nile perch from 1998 with an uncharacteristically

SUBMITTER: Drouillard KG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11603132 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature