Publications by authors named "Leonomir Cordoba-Tovar"

In marine ecosystems, arsenic (As) and total mercury (T-Hg) represent two of the major pollutants, particularly in fish due to their ecology and the affinity of these metal(loid)s with biological cycles. This study assessed the influence of total length, total weight, relative condition factor, and trophic levels of ten marine fish species from the Colombian Caribbean on As and T-Hg accumulation in muscle tissue, as well as the differentiation in accumulated amounts based on fish habitat type. In this context, Balistes capriscus exhibited the highest As median (7949.

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Article Synopsis
  • Understanding variations in total mercury (T-Hg) levels in fish is essential for both environmental and human health, particularly in the Atrato River basin, Colombia, where a study analyzed these influences using a dataset of 842 fish samples from 16 species.
  • The research highlighted key factors affecting T-Hg accumulation, ranking them as follows: feeding habits, total length, estimated total weight, trophic level, water temperature, and pH, with temperature negatively impacting accumulation levels.
  • The study revealed distinct T-Hg patterns based on fish habitat types and emphasized the need for comprehensive insights into biological and environmental factors to enhance biodiversity management strategies, while also noting potential biases in the modeling process.
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Despite being one of the most important tropical biomes in the world, the Atrato River basin has experienced a critical ecological deterioration due to gold mining, posing a significant threat to wildlife and human health. In this study, we measured the concentrations of mercury (Hg) and arsenic (As) in sediments at various swamps within the basin. Classical indices were employed to assess the associated ecological and human health risks linked to exposure to these elements.

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The Atrato River basin was protected by Colombian law due to anthropogenic impacts, mainly from illegal gold mining, which triggered a critical environmental health problem. In this study we quantified mercury (Hg), methylmercury (MeHg) and arsenic (As) concentrations in aquatic environmental matrices, and explored for the first-time nuclear degenerations in fish from the Atrato River. The median concentrations (μg/kg) for T-Hg, MeHg and As in fish were 195.

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Biomagnification of trace elements is increasingly evident in aquatic ecosystems. In this review we investigate the drivers of biomagnification of mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and selenium (Se) in aquatic food webs. Despite Hg, As and Se biomagnify in food webs, the biomagnification potential of Hg is much higher than that of As and Se.

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