Some biological factors related to the 137Cs concentration of marine organisms

Marine Ecology Research Institute has been studying the factors controlling the concentration of radionuclides in marine biota. Weight of fish seemed to be an important factor controlling the concentration of 137Cs because of the good correlation observed between the weight and the concentration of 137Cs. Food habits also seemed to be an important factor because fishes in higher trophic levels tended to indicate higher concentration factors and a positive correlation was observed between the concentrations of predator fishes and those of the foodstuff. Gender could be another factor controlling the concentration of 137Cs because the difference of 137Cs between gender was observed in rockfish and marbled sole.