Mercury contamination poses a serious threat to marine ecosystems due to its toxicity, persistence, and ability to accumulate in organisms. To understand how mercury moves through the food chain in Rayong Bay in the Gulf of Thailand, we analyzed mercury concentrations and stable isotope ratios in various marine organisms and calculated trophic magnification factors (TMFs). From the total mercury content (T-Hg) in plankton (phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish larvae) and muscle tissue of 81 marine animal species were analyzed, we found that mercury levels increase as you move up the food chain in both pelagic and benthic ecosystems. While both food webs show evidence of mercury biomagnification, the pelagic food web (TMF=6.68) has a much steeper increase in mercury levels compared to the benthic food web (TMF=2.06). Here in this presentation, comparison between Rayong Bay and other regions will be made and the need to further explore Hg biomagnification in tropical seas will be discussed.
 

Gulf of Thailand,Mercury,Biomagnification