Dynamics of trace metal concentrations in an intertidal rocky shore food chain

摘要

Numerous studies have measured the concentrations of various trace metals in marine organisms (for a review see Eisler, 1981; Neff, 2002), often in response to concerns about trace metal contamination in seafood or in an attempt to employ marine organisms as biological monitors of coastal contamination. In these studies, marine organisms are typically collected from polluted and unpolluted environments and their concentrations of metals are quantified. The main objectives of these studies are to examine whether the organisms are contaminated with the metals and whether there are any spatial or temporal trends in metal contamination in the coastal or estuarine environment. Few studies have attempted to mechanistically interpret the metal body concentrations in these animals (Langston and Spence, 1995; Wang et al., 1996; Blackmore, 2000; Rainbow, 2002; Luoma and Rainbow, 2005). Over the past decade, the development of kinetic modeling has rekindled interest in the mechanistic interpretation of metal concentrations in marine invertebrates. In addition, a few studies have also attempted to address potential trophic interactions in accounting for the variability of trace metal concentrations in predators (Black-more, 2000, 2001; Blackmore and Morton, 2002).