Dataset of concentrations of mercury and methylmercury in fish from a tropical river impacted by gold mining in the Colombian Pacific

Carlos Salazar-Camacho; Manuel Salas-Moreno; Roberth Paternina-Uribe; José Marrugo-Negrete; Sergi Díez

doi:10.1016/j.dib.2020.106513

Dataset of concentrations of mercury and methylmercury in fish from a tropical river impacted by gold mining in the Colombian Pacific

Data Brief. 2020 Nov 6:33:106513. doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2020.106513. eCollection 2020 Dec.

Authors

Carlos Salazar-Camacho¹, Manuel Salas-Moreno¹, Roberth Paternina-Uribe², José Marrugo-Negrete², Sergi Díez³

Affiliations

¹ Universidad Tecnológica del Chocó, Biology Department - Biosistematic Research Group, Quibdó 270008, Colombia.
² Universidad de Córdoba, Carrera 6 No. 76-103, Montería, Córdoba 230003, Colombia.
³ Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research, IDAEA-CSIC, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain.

Abstract

This data article includes information on the impact of gold mining along five zones of a tropical river in the Pacific region of Colombia. The concentrations of total mercury (THg), total length, mertimercury (MeHg) were determined in 16 species of fish. With this information, it was shown as the concentrations of mercury in fish are influenced by the distribution in the contamination along the Atrato River Basin [1]. Further, THg and MeHg concentrations were related with the trophic level to show biomagnification, and with total length to show bioaccumulation, which is important to establish the potential risk to the environment and also to the health of the inhabitants living along the basin from the consumption of fish.

Keywords: Atrato River Basin; C. krausii; Gold mining; H. malabaricus; MeHg concentrations; THg concentrations; Tropical ecosystems.