biomagnification
Do heavy metals like mercury and arsenic impact the health of great white sharks?
Great white sharks are at the top of the food web and therefore build up large amounts of toxins like heavy metals in their systems. But does this impact their overall health? Find out in the most recent Sharkbites Saturday post! Carolyn WheelerI am currently a PhD student studying marine science at the University of […]
Helping the Atlantic with our Stomachs: the Lionfish Fishery
As a lover of seafood and the environment, it can be tough to find a sustainable fix for fishy cravings. Lionfish could potentially be a great way to take some pressure off of popular seafood while helping out Atlantic ecosystems– if they don’t pose a health risk to the humans eating them. Rishya NarayananRishya is […]
Heavy Metal Presence in Fish from Fresh and Coastal Waters of Ghana
Heavy metal: it’s not just an intense genre of rock music, but also an element high in density that can be incredibly toxic to humans at concentrated levels. While marine life faces many threats, an increasingly severe force has been the addition and accumulation of heavy metals in both coastal and freshwater environments. Francis Gbogbo […]
After the Phase Out: Can Banning Toxic Chemicals Rescue Pilot Whales?
When it comes to persistent pollutants, all roads lead to the ocean. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) is a chemical that has recently gained attention due to its toxic effects and widespread presence in drinking water. PFOS from human products has also become widespread in ocean waters and the creatures who live in them. PFOS was banned […]
What’s in the Hair of a Polar Bear?
The accumulation of toxic methylmercury is a serious threat to wildlife all over the world – especially top predators in polar regions, like polar bears. Young polar bears are often the most vulnerable to detrimental effects of pollutants. To learn more about levels of mercury in polar bear cubs and their mothers, scientists measured total […]
Big Fish Eats Little Fish: Biomagnification of Natural Toxins
Naturally occurring poisons produced by some microorganisms can concentrate to dangerous levels in carnivorous fish, just like man-made pollutants do. In this study, researchers travelled to the Republic of Kiribati to investigate how ciguatoxins, responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning, are transferred between species in a complex reef ecosystem. Carrie McDonoughI am the founder of oceanbites, […]
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