Ecological Traits of Fish for Mercury Biomonitoring: Insights from Compound-Specific Nitrogen and Stable Mercury Isotopes.

ABSTRACT

We coupled compound-specific isotopic analyses of nitrogen (N) in amino acids (δ15NGlu, δ15NPhe) and mercury stable isotopes (δ202Hg, Δ199Hg) to quantify ecological traits governing the concentration, variability, and source of Hg in largemouth bass (LB) and pike gudgeon (PG) across four rivers, South Korea. PG displayed uniform Hg concentration (56-137 ng/g), trophic position (TPcorrected; 2.6-3.0, n = 9), and N isotopes in the source amino acid (δ15NPhe; 7-13‰), consistent with their specialist feeding on benthic insects. LB showed wide ranges in Hg concentration (45-693 ng/g), TPcorrected (2.8-3.8, n = 14), and δ15NPhe (1.3-16‰), reflecting their opportunistic feeding behavior. Hg sources assessed using Hg isotopes reveal low and uniform Δ199Hg in PG (0.20-0.49‰), similar to Δ199Hg reported in sediments. LB displayed site-specific δ202Hg (-0.61 to -0.04‰) and Δ199Hg (0.53-1.09‰). At the Yeongsan River, LB displayed elevated Δ199Hg and low δ15NPhe, consistent with Hg and N sourced from the atmosphere. LB at the Geum River displayed low Δ199Hg and high δ15NPhe, both similar to the isotope values of anthropogenic sources. Our results suggest that a specialist fish (PG) with consistent ecological traits and Hg concentration is an effective bioindicator species for Hg. When accounting for Hg sources, however, LB better captures site-specific Hg sources.