Cephalopod beak sections used to trace mercury levels throughout the life of cephalopods: The giant warty squid Moroteuthopsis longimana as a case study

Queirós, José P.; Bustamante, Paco; Cherel, Yves; Coelho, João P.; Seco, José; Roberts, Jim; Pereira, Eduarda; Xavier, José C. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9621-6660. 2020 Cephalopod beak sections used to trace mercury levels throughout the life of cephalopods: The giant warty squid Moroteuthopsis longimana as a case study. Marine Environmental Research, 161, 105049. 7, pp. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105049

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Abstract/Summary

Cephalopods represent an important pathway for mercury transfer through food-webs. Due to the general difficulties in capturing oceanic squid, beaks found in the diet of top predators can be used to study their life-cycles and ecological role. Using upper beaks of the giant warty squid Moroteuthopsis longimana (major prey in the Southern Ocean), we describe a method to assess mercury concentrations along the life of cephalopods through the segmentary analysis of beak sections (i.e. rostrum's tip and subsections along the hood). Distinct total mercury concentrations in the different subsections support that beaks can be used to study mercury levels in different periods of cephalopods' life-cycle. Mercury values in the anterior (1.3–7.9 μg kg−1 dw) and posterior (7.8–12.5 μg kg−1 dw) subsections reflect juvenile and adult stages, respectively. Furthermore, these results confirm that mercury bioaccumulates continuously throughout the individuals' life, with adults doubling their mercury concentrations to juveniles.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Digital Object Identifier (DOI):	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105049
ISSN:	01411136
Additional Keywords:	Mercury, Trace elements, Southern ocean, Ontogenetic shifts, Bioaccumulation
Date made live:	26 Jun 2020 08:29 +0 (UTC)
URI:	https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528024

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2020.105049

ISSN:

01411136

Additional Keywords:

Mercury, Trace elements, Southern ocean, Ontogenetic shifts, Bioaccumulation

Date made live:

26 Jun 2020 08:29 +0 (UTC)

URI:

https://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/528024