Effects of environmental temperature change on mercury absorption in aquatic organisms with respect to climate warming

Eun Chul Pack, Seung Ha Lee, Chun Huem Kim, Chae Hee Lim, Dea Gwan Sung, Mee Hye Kim, Ki Hwan Park, Kyung Min Lim, Dal Woong Choi, Suhng Wook Kim

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

Because of global warming, the quantity of naturally generated mercury (Hg) will increase, subsequently methylation of Hg existing in seawater may be enhanced, and the content of metal in marine products rise which consequently results in harm to human health. Studies of the effects of temperatures on Hg absorption have not been adequate. In this study, in order to observe the effects of temperature changes on Hg absorption, inorganic Hg or methylmercury (MeHg) was added to water tanks containing loaches. Loach survival rates decreased with rising temperatures, duration, and exposure concentrations in individuals exposed to inorganic Hg and MeHg. The MeHg-treated group died sooner than the inorganic Hg-exposed group. The total Hg and MeHg content significantly increased with temperature and time in both metal-exposed groups. The MeHg-treated group had higher metal absorption rates than inorganic Hg-treated loaches. The correlation coefficients for temperature elevation and absorption were significant in both groups. The results of this study may be used as basic data for assessing in vivo hazards from environmental changes such as climate warming.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1477-1490
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of Toxicology and Environmental Health - Part A
Volume77
DOIs
StatePublished - 27 Dec 2014

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant (10162KFDA995) from the Korea Food and Drug Administration, an Institute of Health Science Grant, Korea University and a Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2011-0023938).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.

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