Abstract
Subadult rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to four waterborne concentrations each of 64–426 μg/L mercuric chloride (HgCl2) and 4–34 μg/L methylmercury chloride (CH3HgCl) until death to evaluate the critical body burden concept. Mean days to death for fish exposed to the highest and lowest concentrations of HgCl2 were 1 and 58 d, and 2 and >100 d for fish exposed to CH3HgCl. Time to death was an important factor that influenced Hg tissue concentration, and was most evident among fish that died within a few days of exposure. Critical body burdens for Hg could be difficult to establish at the tissue level because no threshold concentrations were clearly indicated among the liver, kidney, spleen, brain, muscle, and gill that were monitored in this study. A critical burden for Hg was derived on a whole body basis for Hg in its organic form. An evaluation of this and other studies suggests whole body concentrations of 10–20 mg/kg Hg could be lethal to fish. Extrapolation from other studies indicate whole body concentrations of 1–5 mg/kg Hg could have chronic effects on fish and possibly other aquatic organisms. This concept could be used to assess the toxicological significance of chemical concentrations that are monitored in feral aquatic organisms. This tissue-based approach appears to have some advantages over current assessment protocols that focus on waterborne concentrations.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Explore related subjects
Discover the latest articles, news and stories from top researchers in related subjects.Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Akiyama A (1970) Acute toxicity of two organic mercury compounds to the teleost, Oryzias latipes, in different stages of development. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish 36:563–570
Amend DF, Yasutake WT, Morgan R (1969) Some factors influencing susceptibility of rainbow trout to the acute toxicity of ethyl mercury phosphate formulation (Timsan). Trans Am Fish Soc 98:419–425
Barghigiani C, de Ranieri S (1992) Mercury content in different size classes of important edible species of the northern Tyrrhenian Sea. Mar Pollut Bull 24:114–116
Biesinger KE, Anderson LE, Eaton JG (1982) Chronic effects of inorganic and organic mercury on Daphnia magna: Toxicity, accumulation, and loss. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 11:769–774
Boudou A, Ribeyre F (1983) Contamination of aquatic biocenoses by mercury compounds: an experimental ecotoxicological approach. In: Nriagu JO (ed) Aquatic toxicology. John Wiley & Sons, NY, pp 73–116
de Bruijn J, Yedema E, Seinen W, Hermens J (1991) Lethal body burdens of four organophosphorous pesticides in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Aquat Toxicol 20:111–122
Brungs WA, Leonard EN, McKim J (1973) Acute and long-term accumulation of copper by the brown bullhead, Ictalurus nebulosus. J Fish Res Board Can 30:583–586
Burton DT, Jones AH, Cairns J Jr (1972) Acute zinc toxicity to rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri): confirmation of the hypothesis that death is related to tissue hypoxia. J Fish Res Board Can 29:1463–1466
Eaton JG (1974) Chronic cadmium toxicity to the bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque). Trans Amer Fish Soc 103:729–735
Eisenbud M (1973) Environmental radioactivity. Academic Press, NY
Environment Canada (1981) Analytical methods manual update, 1981. Water Quality Branch, Ottawa, Canada
Evans DH (1987) The fish gill: Site of action and model for toxic effects of environmental pollutants. Environ Health Perspect 71:47–58
Foulkes EC (1990) The concept of critical levels of toxic heavy metals in target tissues. Crit Rev Toxicol 20:327–340
Francesconi KA, Lenanton RC (1992) Mercury contamination in a semi-enclosed marine embayment: organic and inorganic mercury content of biota, and factors influencing mercury levels in fish. Mar Environ Res 33:189–212
Friant SL, Henry L (1985) Relationship between toxicity of certain organic compounds and their concentrations in tissues of aquatic organisms: a perspective. Chemosphere 14:1897–1907
Gill TS, Tewari H, Pande J (1990) Use of the fish enzyme system in monitoring water quality: Effects of mercury on tissue enzymes. Comp Biochem Physiol 97C:287–292
Gupta AK, Rajbanshi (1988) Acute toxicity of cadmium to Channa punctatus (Bloch). Acta Hydrochim Hydrobiol 16:525–535
Hamelink JL, Waybrant RC, Yant PR (1977) Mechanisms of bioaccumulation of mercury and chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides by fish in lentic ecosystems. In: Suffet IH (ed) Fate of pollutants in the air and water environments, Vol 8, Part 2. John Wiley & Sons, NY, pp 261–281
Hamilton SJ, Buhl KJ (1990) Safety assessment of selected inorganic elements to fry of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Ecotoxicol Environ Safety 20:307–324
Hamilton SJ, Merhle PM (1986) Metallothionein in fish: review of its importance in assessing stress from metal contaminants. Trans Am Fish Soc 115:596–609
Hattula ML, Sarkka J, Janatuinen J, Paasivirta J, Roos A (1978) Total mercury and methyl mercury contents in fish from Lake Paijanne. Environ Pollut 17:19–29
Hattula ML, Wasenius VM, Reunanen H, Arstila AU (1981) Acute toxicity of some chlorinated phenols, catechols and cresols to trout. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 26:295–298
Hawryshyn CW, Mackay WC (1979) Toxicity and tissue uptake of methylmercury administered intraperitoneally to rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri Richardson). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 23:79–86
Hellou J, Warren WG, Payne JF, Belkhode S, Lobel P (1992) Heavy metals and other elements in three tissues of cod, Gadus morhua from the northwest Atlantic. Mar Pollut Bull 24:452–458
Hinton D, Koening JC (1975) Acid phosphatase activity in the subcellular fractions of fish liver exposed to methylmercury chloride. Comp Biochem Physiol 50:621–625
Hogstrand C, Haux C (1991) Binding and detoxification of heavy metals in lower vertebrates with reference to metallothionein. Comp Biochem Physiol 100C:137–141
Huckabee JW, Janzen SA, Blaylock BG, Talmi Y, Beauchamp JJ (1978) Methylated mercury in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis): Absence of an in vivo methylating process. Trans Am Fish Soc 107:848–852
Kirubagaran R, Joy KP (1990) Changes in brain monoamine levels and monoamine oxidase activity in the catfish, Clarias batrachus, during chronic treatments with mercurials. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 45:88–93
Knechtel JR, Fraser JL (1979) Wet digestion method for the determination of mercury in biological and environmental samples. Anal Chem 51:315–317
Kobayashi K, Kishino T (1980) Effect of pH on the toxicity and accumulation of pentachlorophenol in goldfish. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish 46:167–170
Kumagai H, Saeki K (1978) Contents of total mercury, alkyl mercury and methyl mercury in some coastal fish and shells. Bull Jpn Soc Sci Fish 44:807–811
Lakshmi R, Kundu R, Thomas E, Mansuri AP (1991) Mercuric chloride induced inhibition of acid and alkaline phosphatase activity in the kidney of mudskipper, Boleophthalmus dentatus. Acta Hydrochim Hydrobiol 19:341–344
Leah RT, Evans SJ, Johnson MS, Collings S (1991) Spatial patterns in accumulation of mercury by fish from the NE Irish Sea. Mar Pollut Bull 22:172–175
Lock RAC (1975) Uptake of methylmercury by aquatic organisms from water and food. In: Koeman JH, Strik JJTWA (eds) Sublethal effects of toxic chemicals on aquatic organisms. Elsevier Sci Publ Co, Amsterdam, pp 61–79
MacLeod JC, Pessah E (1973) Temperature effects on mercury accumulation, toxicity, and metabolic rate in rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). J Fish Res Board Can 30:485–492
Matida Y, Kumada H (1969) Distribution of mercury in water, bottom mud and aquatic organisms of Minamata Bay, the River Agano and other water bodies in Japan. Bull Freshw Fish Res Lab 19:73–90
Matida Y, Kumada H, Kimura S, Saiga Y, Nose T, Yokota M, Kawatsu H (1971) Toxicity of mercury compounds to aquatic organisms and accumulation of the compounds by the organisms. Bull Freshw Fish Res Lab 21:197–227
McKim JM, Olson GF, Holcombe GW, Hunt EP (1976) Long-term effects of methylmercuric chloride on three generations of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis): Toxicity, accumulation, distribution, and elimination. J Fish Res Board Can 33:2726–2739
Mount DI (1964) An autopsy technique for zinc-caused fish mortality. Trans Am Fish Soc 93:174–182
Mount DI, Boyle HW (1969) Parathion—use of blood concentration to diagnose mortality of fish. Environ Sci Technol 3:1183–1185
Nicholls DM, Teichert-Kuliszewska K, Girgis GR (1989) Effect of chronic mercuric chloride exposure on liver and muscle enzymes in fish. Comp Biochem Physiol 94C:265–270
Oliver BG, Niimi AJ (1985) Bioconcentration factors of some halogenated organics for rainbow trout: Limitations in their use for prediction of environmental residues. Environ Sci Technol 19:842–849
Olson GF, Mount DI, Snarski VM, Thorslund TW (1975) Mercury residues in fathead minnows, Pimephales promelas Rafinesque, chronically exposed to methylmercury in water. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 14:129–134
Pentreath RJ (1976) The accumulation of inorganic mercury from sea water by the plaice, Pleuronectes platessa L. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 24:103–119
Phillips GR, Buhler DR (1978) The relative contributions of methylmercury from food or water to rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) in a controlled laboratory environment. Trans Am Fish Soc 107:853–861
Potter L, Kidd D, Standiford D (1975) Mercury level in Lake Powell, bioamplification of mercury in man-made desert reservoir. Environ Sci Technol 9:41–46
Reinert RE, Stone LJ, Willford WA (1974) Effect of temperature on accumulation of methylmercuric chloride and p,p' DDT by rainbow trout. J Fish Res Board Can 31:1649–1652
Renfro WC, Fowler SW, Heyraud M, La Rosa J (1975) Relative importance of food and water in long-term zinc−65 accumulation by marine biota. J Fish Res Board Can 32:1339–1345
Rhead MM, Perkins JM (1984) An evaluation of the relative importance of food and water as sources of p,p'-DDT to the goldfish, Carassius auratus (L). Water Res 18:719–725
Rodgers DW, Beamish FWH (1981) Uptake of waterborne methylmercury by rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) in relation to oxygen consumption and methylmercury concentration. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 38:1309–1315
Scherer E, Armstrong FAJ, Nowak SH (1975) Effects of mercury-contaminated diet upon walleyes, Stizostedion vitreum vitreum (Mitchell). Fish Mar Ser Tech Rpt, No 597, Ottawa, Canada, 21 pp
Shaw BP, Panigrahi AK (1990) Brain AChE activity studies in some fish species collected from a mercury contaminated estuary. Water Air Soil Pollut 53:327–334
Slooff W, Canton JH, Hermens JLM (1983) Comparison of the susceptibility of 22 freshwater species to 15 chemical compounds. I. (Sub)acute toxicity tests. Aquat Toxicol 4:113–128
Snarski VM, Olson GJ (1982) Chronic toxicity and bioaccumulation of mercuric chloride in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). Aquat Toxicol 2:143–156
Sorensen EMB (1976) Toxicity and accumulation of arsenic in green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus, exposed to arsenate in water. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 15:756–761
Sreedevi P, Suresh A, Sivaramakrishna B, Prabhavathi B, Radhakrishnaiah K (1992) Bioaccumulation of nickel in the organs of the freshwater fish, Cyprinus carpio, and the freshwater mussel, Lamellidens marginalis, under lethal and sublethal nickel stress. Chemosphere 24:29–36
van den Heuvel MR, McCarty LS, Lanno RP, Hickie BE, Dixon DG (1991) Effect of total body lipid on the toxicity and toxicokinetics of pentachlorophenol in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Aquat Toxicol 20:235–252
Westöö G (1973) Methylmercury as percentage of total mercury in flesh and viscera of salmon and sea trout of various ages. Science 181:567–568
Wobeser G (1975) Prolonged oral administration of methyl mercury chloride to rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) fingerlings. J Fish Res Board Can 32:2015–2023
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Niimi, A.J., Kissoon, G.P. Evaluation of the critical body burden concept based on inorganic and organic mercury toxicity to rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 26, 169–178 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224801
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00224801