Mother-embryo isotope (δ15N, δ13C) fractionation and mercury (Hg) transfer in aplacental deep-water sharks

Baptiste Le Bourg (1) , Jeremy Kiszka (1, 2) , Paco Bustamante (1)

1 LIENSs - LIttoral ENvironnement et Sociétés
2 Marine Sciences Program

Stable carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) isotopic values and total mercury (Hg) concentrations were analysed in muscle and liver of mothers and embryos of two aplacental shark species, Squalus megalops and Centrophorus moluccensis. Embryos of the two species had similar or lower isotopic values than their respective mothers, the only exception being for δ13C, which was higher in the liver of C. moluccensis embryos than in their mothers. Hg concentrations were systematically lower in embryos compared to their mothers suggesting a low transfer of this element in muscle and liver.

Mots clés: sharks; stable isotopes; trace metal; maternal influence

Domaines: Ecotoxicologie

Baptiste Le Bourg, Jeremy Kiszka, Paco Bustamante. Mother-embryo isotope (δ15N, δ13C) fractionation and mercury (Hg) transfer in aplacental deep-water sharks. Journal of Fish Biology, 2014, 84, pp.1574-1581. ⟨10.1111/jfb.12357⟩. ⟨hal-00985523v2⟩