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Using body mass index (BMI) to estimate mercury contamination of the blue shark (Prionace glauca) and the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus)
How to cite: Biton Porsmoguer, S., Dekeyser, I., Banaru, D., Bouchoucha, M., & Marco-Miralles, F. (2016). Using body mass index (BMI) to estimate mercury contamination of the blue shark (Prionace glauca) and the shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus). Cybium, 40(4): 319-322. https://doi.org/10.26028/CYBIUM/2016-404-005
Blue shark (Prionace glauca) and shortfin mako (Isurus oxyrinchus) specimens were caught in the North-eastern Atlantic Ocean by Spanish and Portuguese longliners. They are considered as top-predators, particularly susceptible to bioaccumulate mercury (Hg). The Hg mean levels in blue shark and shortfin mako were 0.4 (SD = 0.3 mg kg-1) and 0.5 (SD = 0.9 mg kg-1), respectively. The body mass index (BMI) was tested to demonstrate the accumulation of Hg in these two top-predators, taking into account size (TL, cm) and mass (W, kg) simultaneously. The comparison of these three methods showed that the BMI could be a relevant biological indicator of the accumulative Hg process for sharks.
