General Assessment

This manuscript addresses an important research question concerning mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation at the base of the marine food web. The study is highly relevant to global mercury policy (e.g., Minamata Convention) and human exposure pathways. The paper is well-structured, presents novel insights, and draws clear, well-supported conclusions. However, minor revisions are needed to improve clarity, precision, and flow.

Title and Abstract

• Title: Accurately reflects the paper's content.
• Abstract: Clearly identifies the knowledge gap and purpose of the study. However, on line 7 the sentence “We show that the feeding strategy…”  is too long and would benefit from being split into two for clarity.

Scientific Content and Relevance

The study addresses a critical knowledge gap concerning Hg speciation and feeding strategies in marine organisms. It provides novel concepts and models for interpreting bioaccumulation, particularly around the bioavailability and cycling of inorganic and methylmercury. The conclusions are well supported and articulated, particularly those on differences in MeHg vs. iHg across feeding strategies and the implications for risk assessment and modeling.

Examples of valuable contributions include:

• The identification of trophic level 3.6 as a shift point for MeHg dominance in the tHg concentration (section 3.1).
• Lines 316 – 319 provide interesting and relevant insight into how detritus cycling in the Northern North Sea affects Hg transfer. However, I do recommend adding more references in this section.
• Base model and allometric scaling model comparisons revealed useful information on importance of trophic-level-specific MeHg release rate values, and also importance of considering local low-trophic-level species composition.
• Emphasis on the importance of Hg speciation for food web and human health risk assessments.

Structure and Clarity

The structure is logical, and many aspects of the manuscript are very clearly written, for example the feeding strategy descriptions. The main suggestions for improvement would be to increase the number of references, particularly in the methods and discussion sections. The language could also be improved by applying a passive voice and limiting the use of run-on sentences.

Technical Corrections and Suggestions

• On line 18: Add reference for the threefold increase in environmental Hg and specify whether this data is a global average and the environmental medium that it comes from (ie. sediment and peat archives?)

• Line 30: Volume concentration factor (6.4E6) – specify units if applicable.
• Line 31: Sentence is overly casual – recommend removing or revising.

• Line 34: Revise to: “Consumption of MeHg-contaminated seafood is the primary pathway of mercury exposure in humans, with elevated risk among coastal and seafood-reliant populations (Zhang et al. 2021).” This revised version better emphasizes exposure pathways while remaining sensitive to the context of seafood-dependent communities. If you choose to expand on health effects, a brief mention of methylmercury’s neurotoxicity could provide a natural transition to your discussion of Minamata Bay. If you do retain the sentences in lines 34 – 37, also consider briefly clarifying Minamata Bay’s specific contamination source, to not create a false sense of fear that these pollution levels are common.
  
  Reference: Zhang, et al. (2021) Global health effects of future atmospheric mercury emissions. Nat. Commun. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23391-7

• Line 39: Rephrase to avoid starting with a number or acronym (e.g., “A total of 151 countries…”).

• Line 95: Add references for the coupled models (ie. GOTM, ECOSMO E2E and Mercy v2.0).
• Alternatively, the subheadings 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5 could be changed to 2.2.1, 2.2.2, and 2.2.3 respectively as they all fall under the “2.2 The models” subheading.

• Figure 1: Uses URL links within the figure caption which is generally not recommended. One possibility for rewording the caption is: “Several sub-images were used to create this figure. Image sources (used under Creative Commons licenses or in the public domain) are as follows: Filter feeder: Sabella spallanzanii (image by Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikipedia).”
• Line 148: Provide justification or reference for the bprotected value used.
• Line 155: Maintain consistent MeHg/iHg order throughout the sentence for clarity.
• Line 176: Unsure of what units d^-1 refers to.
• Line 210: Include a reference for B10 value interpretation and the Jeffreys–Zellner–Siow prior assumption.
• Line 216: Rephrase for clarity. For example: “A BF10 factor below 1 supports the H1 hypothesis, while BF10 values < 0.1 and < 0.01 are considered strong and very strong evidence, respectively, in favor of the H0 hypothesis.”
• Figure 2 caption: Final sentence seems to have been cut down short. Recommend: “This contrasts the iHg concentration (<100 ng g⁻¹ d.w.) for all animals, except starfish, eel, and sponges.” The caption should also clarify that the data shown came from a literature review. If each point comes from a separate study, consider citing sources directly in the figure legend.
• Line 256: Typo. Should read: “…followed by deposit feeders with up to 5 g C m⁻².”
• Figure 7: Recommend removing plot titles and reformatting to look more like Figure 3. The Hg species should be identified in the y-axis label, and the order of the Hg species should match Figure 3 (MeHg, iHg, tHg). Will also need to be repeated for figure 8.
• Table 2 and 3 captions: Define AS as allometric scaling in the caption only.

Concluding Remarks

The manuscript presents novel and important insights into Hg bioaccumulation and its relationship with feeding strategy, trophic level, and ecosystem cycling. It contributes meaningfully to environmental toxicology and policy-relevant science. With revisions focused on clarity, justification of assumptions, and minor stylistic improvements, this paper will be a strong addition to the journal.

The manuscript addresses a timely topic in mercury research by examining how different feeding strategies influence the bioaccumulation of inorganic mercury and methylmercury in marine ecosystems. The results are interesting and potentially valuable to the field. However, the presentation of the results and discussion sections is somewhat unclear and contains redundancy, which makes it difficult to follow the key findings. I also have concerns regarding the model evaluation results and the methodology used for the model assessments. These concerns may be largely addressed if the authors can reorganize and revise the results and discussion section. I outlined my comments below.

1. Since the primary objective of the study is to model Hg bioaccumulation, I recommend that the model evaluation be presented as part of the Results and Discussion rather than the Methods. This change would strengthen the narrative and reduce redundancy—many of the points currently discussed in Section 3 could be streamlined. I suggest restructuring Section 3.1 to serve as the model evaluation, followed by subsequent sections explaining key discrepancies between model output and observations (currently in Section 4). 

2. The purpose of Figure 3 is unclear. It is not evident why the authors chose to use Hg data from different ecosystems and plot them against trophic level (referred to as feeding strategy in the figure). Since ecosystems differ in baseline inorganic Hg and MeHg concentrations, the MeHg–trophic level relationship should be examined within each ecosystem independently.

3. For model evaluation, I strongly suggest plotting modeled versus observed concentrations of speciated Hg (inorganic and MeHg) for each modeled feeding strategy. This would provide a clearer and more direct assessment of model performance.

4. Section 3.2.3, which addresses the effect of feeding strategy on bioaccumulation, is central to the manuscript’s aims, yet it is not discussed in sufficient depth. In contrast, the manuscript devotes substantial space to explaining Hg vs. trophic level patterns (Section 3.2.4), which are already well-established in the literature. I recommend condensing the discussion in 3.2.4 and focusing more on how feeding strategies influence MeHg and inorganic Hg transfer, particularly in benthic food webs.

5. Figure 4 is difficult to interpret. It is unclear whether the data are empirical or simulated. A more straightforward approach might be to present Hg concentrations across feeding strategies as a bar chart with error bars. If the intent is to show correlations between feeding strategies, a correlation coefficient would be more appropriate.

6. Section 3.3, on allometric scaling, should appear earlier in the manuscript. When reading Sections 3.2.3 and 3.2.4, I repeatedly found myself wondering about the effects of allometric scaling on the results. Figures 7 and 8 could be consolidated to allow readers to compare model performance with and without allometric scaling more clearly.

7. Lines 340–350: This content would be better integrated into the allometric scaling section.

8. As the authors note, the model is implemented for the North Sea, yet many of the empirical datasets used for comparison originate from other regions. This mismatch raises concerns about the validity of the model evaluation. Comparing model output to observations from ecologically distinct systems—each with different baseline Hg and MeHg levels, food web structures, and biogeochemical conditions—complicates interpretation and undermines the credibility of the evaluation. I strongly recommend either (1) limiting the model evaluation to observed data from the North Sea, or (2) running separate models parameterized for the specific ecosystems from which the empirical data are drawn. 

General Comments

This manuscript addressed a modelling knowledge gap by combining a mercury bioaccumulation model for the base of a marine food web with hydrodynamic and mercury cycling models. The study first evaluated empirical measurements of mercury in marine megabenthos from published literature and then compared those data to results from their coupled model. Differences in mercury concentrations and speciation were found among megabenthos with different feeding strategies and that variation was reproduced with the coupled model.

Specific Comments

1. Data on mercury concentrations in marine megabenthos were compiled and examined for differences in bioaccumulation by feeding strategy. It appears a relatively small number of studies were used (n = 12, Table 5) compared to available published data on mercury in marine megabenthos. What criteria were used for the literature review and selection of papers?
2. More information on the measurement of mercury burdens in the megabenthos studies seems important to include for interpretation and standardization. Sometimes megabenthos tissues cannot be sampled consistently due to differences in exoskeleton and body form. What tissue types were measured for mercury? (e.g., whole body [including exoskeleton], internal viscera, muscle). How was inorganic mercury concentration determined? (i.e., the studies in Table 5 do not include inorganic mercury). Are the modelled concentrations for whole body of megabenthos (e.g., Figure 6)?
3. The empirical mercury data for megabenthos were pooled across geographic locations where environmental mercury exposure may have differed. How were potential confounding effects of geographic variation and feeding strategy resolved? Were the findings of feeding strategy influence on mercury burdens consistent with individual studies from specific geographic areas?
4. Organism bioaccumulation is described as involving two key processes: bioconcentration and biomagnification (lines 26-34). A more nuanced discussion is suggested here on exposure pathways and also clarification on the mechanistic processes that were modelled. Uptake of aqueous inorganic mercury and methylmercury into the food web occurs via bioconcentration in primary producers. However, consumers are typically exposed to mercury primarily through their diet and not via bioconcentration from water. Figure 6 shows modelled concentrations in biota, where bioconcentrated and biomagnified mercury are differentiated. These model results are not consistent with known trophic transfer processes of mercury. In higher trophic level biota, very little of the total mercury burden is inorganic mercury (e.g., in contrast with modelled result for a top predator) and most mercury is obtained from diet rather than water (bioconcentration). In Figure 6, much of the bioaccumulated mercury is attributed to bioconcentration. E.g., see Wang and Wang, Environmental Pollution 2019, Volume 252, Part B, September 2019, Pages 1561-1573, and other studies cited therein.
5. The focus of this study is on megabenthos, i.e. consumer organisms. However, a key process that warrants more modelling attention is the process of methylmercury entry in the food web via primary producers. Figure 6 shows modelling results for diatoms and dinoflagellates. How do those mercury concentrations compare with empirical data for phytoplankton? How can the inorganic mercury and methylmercury in primary producers be a result of biomagnification, as indicated in the figure?

Technical Corrections

Line 8. Is the inorganic mercury in filter feeders elevated or more specifically is it found as a higher proportion of total mercury compared to other megabenthos?

Line 18. Cite a reference for this statement.

Line 26-27. Does bioconcentration only occur in a polluted environment? Is the model then only relevant for polluted environments?

Line 45. The first effectiveness evaluation of the Minamata Convention has not been completed. Rephrase this text.

Line 51-52. Some megabenthos are not lower trophic level biota (e.g., are secondary consumers) and thus are not necessarily representative of processes at the base of the food web.

Line 74. Perhaps change “in silico” to “a modelling experiment”

Line 86-89 and elsewhere. Use past tense to describe work that was completed.

Figure 1. What is the black line that connects biota to detritus, DOM and sediment organic carbon?

Line 186. Rephrase “samples are sampled”

Line 195. Provide more detail on how the model performance was evaluated.

Section 3.1. How do the results of this analysis compare with published findings reported in the literature?

Line 255. Unclear meaning – “validate that they survive in the model”

Figure 6. How do mercury concentrations per unit carbon (reported in Figure 6) compare to literature reported values that do not take carbon content into account?

Line 310-313. Are there published empirical studies that support this model prediction regarding filter feeders?

Line 361. Does the bioaccumulated inorganic mercury originate from water or dietary exposure?

Line 394. Explain further what is meant by “in vivo mercury speciation”.

Line 411. Where are these regression results presented earlier in the manuscript?

Line 436-437. This comment about bivalve communities is speculative.

Line 441-442. Consider concluding the paper with a recommendation for future work on model development.