Abreu, S. N.

Morgado, F.

Rendón-von Osten, J.

Soares, A. M. V. M.

Vieira, H. C.

English

Repositório Institucional da Universidade de Aveiro

Discussion and ConclusionsA 16th century shipwreck mercury legacy and present mercury bioaccumulation in intertidal speciesVieira, H. C.1*, Rendón-von Osten, J.2, Soares, A.M.V.M.1, Morgado, F.1, Abreu, S. N.11 Department of Biology and CESAM, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal2 EPOMEX Institute, Autonomous University of Campeche, Campeche, Mexico*mail to: hugovieira@ua.pt❑ Shipwrecks may influence the surrounding environment.❑ Surface sediments from the shipwreck bay (S1) present higher levels when compared with the other sampling sites.❑ Organic matter plays an important role in Hg accumulation dynamics in marine sediments. ❑ [Hg] found in all species reflects the proximity of sampling site to the shipwreck bay.❑ Differences on [Hg] were found between producers (algae) and consumers (crustaceans and gastropods), suggesting a potential biomagnification.ResultsAcknowledgmentsThe study was financially supported by FCT/MCTES to CESAM (UID/AMB/50017/2019), through national funds. FCT also financed a doctoral grant to Vieira, H.C. (PD/BD/127808/2016). We are thankful for the financial supportby the project INSIDER (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030495) funded by FEDER, through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), and by national funds (OE), through FCT/MCTES.The authors would also like to thank Direção Regional de Cultura do Governo Regional dos Açores for providing and authorizing the use of photographs related with the shipwreck.TU056❖ [Hg] increased in the shipwreck area in both sediment fractions.❖ Significant differences (p<0.05) in [Hg] were found:a) sampling sites in both sediment fractionsb) sediment fractions❖ Fine sediment fraction (<63µm) presents higher content of organic matter.❖ Significant differences (p<0.05) in organic matter content were found betweensediment fractions.❑ Over the centuries, mercury (Hg) has been used by humans for a variety of purposes.❑ Hg is used in gold and silver mining processes through a process called amalgamation.❑ The amalgamation process became increasingly popular in the 16th century by Spanishcolonizers. Hg was carried in galleons along the Atlantic, from Spain to the new world.❑ In 1583, after Philip II of Spain became King of Portugal, all the Iberian ships coming fromoverseas passed then through the Azores, however, occasionally some of these vessels sankdue to storms or collisions with reefs.❑ In the environment, Hg has the ability to bioaccumulate and biomagnify in aquatic food webs.❑ Marine organisms are used to monitor the marine environment through the analysis of pollutantconcentrations in the organism tissues (bioindicators).Objectives evaluate the [Hg] in sediments and intertidal species caught in a bay that contains ashipwreck (Iberian construction from the last quarter of sixteen-century) and other bays withoutevidence of shipwrecks.➢ Sediment samples (0-2cm depth)❑ Collected❑ Dried❑ Sieved❑ Hg quantification➢ Intertidal species samples▪ Asparagopsis armata▪ Ulva lactuca▪ Littorina striata▪ Patella candei▪ Paleamon elegans▪ Pachygrapsus marmoratus❑ Collected❑ Cleaned❑ Hg quantificationFig 1 / Sampling sites in Terceira island and Graciosa island (Azores archipelago)S3S2S5S4S1Fig 2 / Hg concentration (µg g-1) in the sediment fraction between 1mm and 63µm and <63µm. Fig 3 / Percentage of organic matter in the sediment fraction between 1mm and 63µm and <63µm.Sampling sitesS1 S2 S3 S4 S5[Hg] g g-10.00.10.21.01.1<1mm and >63 m<63 mSampling siteS1 S2 S3 S4 S5Organic matter content (%)051015202530<1mm and >63 m<63 mMercury in sedimentsMercury bioaccumulation in intertidal speciesFig 4 / [Hg] in different intertidal species. N/A present in the graphics means that species were not analyzed in these sampling sites.Sampling siteS1 S2 S3 S4 S5[Hg] (g g-1)0.000.010.020.030.040.050.06 Ulva lactucaSampling siteS1 S2 S3 S4 S5[Hg] (g g-1)0.000.010.020.030.040.050.06 Patella candeiSampling siteS1 S2 S3 S4 S5[Hg] (g g-1)0.000.010.020.030.040.050.06 Littorina striataSampling siteS1 S2 S3 S4 S5[Hg] (g g-1)0.000.010.020.030.040.050.06 PalaemonelegansSampling siteS1 S2 S3 S4 S5[Hg] (g g-1)0.000.010.020.030.040.050.06 PachygrapsusmarmoratusSampling site S1 S2 S3 S4 S5[Hg] (g g-1)0.000.010.020.030.040.050.06 Asparagopsisarmata❖ Hg bioaccumulation is significant higher in species from S1  ❖ Algae have lower [Hg] (p<0.05) than crustaceans and gastropods Introduction and Objectives Material and Methods

A 16th century shipwreck mercury legacy and present mercury bioaccumulation in intertidal species

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A 16th century shipwreck mercury legacy and present mercury bioaccumulation in intertidal species

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