Effects of concentration, body size and food type on the bioaccumulation of Hg in farmed tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus

Kinetics of bioaccumulation of Hg by Orechromis mossambicus were investigated in this study. We experimentally determined the assimilation efficiency (AE) of ingested prey, the uptake-rate constant from the aqueous phase, and elimination-rate constant of mercury. By the steady state of the exposure period, the Concentration Factor (CF) of Hg was 130.66 to 150.58. The biological half-lives at slow components between small and large fishs did not change significant, and were found to be 46.8-46.5 and 72.2-75.3 days. Predictions of Bio Concentration Factor (BCF) in O. mossambicus tissues using a biokinetic model and the measured AE and efflux rates ranged from 743.31 to 4825.95.