TY - JOUR

T1 - Biodiversity loss in benthic macroinfaunal communities and its consequence for organic mercury trophic availability to benthivorous predators in the lower Hudson River estuary, USA

AU - Goto, Daisuke

AU - Wallace, William G

PY - 2009/12/1

Y1 - 2009/12/1

N2 - Organic mercury such as methylmercury is not only one of the most toxic substances found in coastal ecosystems but also has high trophic transfer efficiency. In this study, we examined implications of chronically altered benthic macroinfaunal assemblages for organic mercury trophic availability (based on organic mercury intracellular partitioning) to their predators in the Arthur Kill-AK (New York, USA). Despite low species diversity, both density and biomass of benthic macroinvertebrates in AK were significantly higher than those at the reference site. Disproportionately high biomass of benthic macroinvertebrates (mostly polychaetes) in the northern AK resulted in a more than twofold increase ('ecological enrichment') in the trophically available organic mercury pool. These results suggest that altered benthic macroinfaunal community structure in AK may play an important role in organic mercury trophic availability at the base of benthic food webs and potentially in mercury biogeochemical cycling in this severely urbanized coastal ecosystem.

AB - Organic mercury such as methylmercury is not only one of the most toxic substances found in coastal ecosystems but also has high trophic transfer efficiency. In this study, we examined implications of chronically altered benthic macroinfaunal assemblages for organic mercury trophic availability (based on organic mercury intracellular partitioning) to their predators in the Arthur Kill-AK (New York, USA). Despite low species diversity, both density and biomass of benthic macroinvertebrates in AK were significantly higher than those at the reference site. Disproportionately high biomass of benthic macroinvertebrates (mostly polychaetes) in the northern AK resulted in a more than twofold increase ('ecological enrichment') in the trophically available organic mercury pool. These results suggest that altered benthic macroinfaunal community structure in AK may play an important role in organic mercury trophic availability at the base of benthic food webs and potentially in mercury biogeochemical cycling in this severely urbanized coastal ecosystem.

KW - Animals

KW - Biodiversity

KW - Environmental Monitoring

KW - Food Chain

KW - Invertebrates/drug effects

KW - Mercury/analysis

KW - Rivers/chemistry

KW - United States

KW - Water Pollutants, Chemical/analysis

U2 - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.09.032

DO - 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2009.09.032

M3 - Article

C2 - 19857879

VL - 58

SP - 1909

EP - 1915

JO - Marine pollution bulletin

JF - Marine pollution bulletin

SN - 0025-326X

IS - 12

ER -