Trophic transfer of metals in a seagrass food web: Bioaccumulation of essential and non-essential metals

Metal concentrations are reported for a seagrass ecosystem receiving industrial inputs. ?13C and ?15N isotope ratios were used to establish trophic links. Copper concentrations (dry mass) ranged from <0.01 ?g/g in fish species to 570 ?g/g (? = 49 ± SD = 90 ?g/g) in the oyster Saccostrea glomerata. Zinc concentrations ranged from 0.6 ?g/g in the seagrass Zostera capricorni to 10,800 ?g/g in the mud oyster Ostrea angasi (? = 434 ± 1390 ?g/g). Cadmium concentrations ranged from <0.01 ?g/g in fish species to 268 ?g/g in Ostrea angasi (? = 6 ± 25 ?g/g). Lead concentrations ranged from <0.01 ?g/g for most fish species to 20 ?g/g in polychaetes (? = 2 ± 3 ?g/g). Biomagnification of metals did not occur. Organisms that fed on particulate organic matter and benthic microalgae had higher metal concentrations than those that fed on detritus. Species physiology also played an important role in the bioaccumulation of metals.