Environmental factors affecting methyl mercury accumulation in zooplankton

Westcott, K.; Kalff, J.

doi:10.1139/cjfas-53-10-2221

Cited by 24 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Mercury (Hg) in the environment is a concern to human health due to its conversion to methylmercury (MeHg), a neurotoxin, and the subsequent bioaccumulation of MeHg in fish consumed by humans (Bloom, 1992;Westcott and Kalff, 1996;NRC 2000). Elemental mercury (Hg 0 ) can exist in the vapor phase and undergo long-range transport (Lindqvist and Rodhe, 1985;Lin and Pehkonen, 1999a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Speciation of Mercury (II) and Methylmercury in Cloud and Fog Water

Bittrich

Chadwick

Babiarz

et al. 2011

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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The fate of oxidized mercury (Hg) in clouds and fogs is affected by the complexation of oxidized Hg(II) with other chemical species present in cloud and fog water. Metal complexation often influences the types of reactions available to a metal in an aqueous system. The influence of pH, major inorganic ions, and organic acids on the complexation of Hg(II) and methylmercury (MeHg) was examined for a range of cloud and fog water compositions. Fog water was collected in the San Joaquin Valley, CA and rain water was collected at Devil's Lake State Park, WI to provide additional measurements of the chemical conditions of atmospheric media. A thermodynamic model was used to determine the speciation of Hg(II) and methylmercury (MeHg) over a range of atmospherically-relevant cloud and fog compositions. The speciation of Hg(II) in cloud and fog water was highly dependent on pH. For conditions found in most clouds and fogs, the chloride ion was the most important major ion controlling Hg(II) complexation, even under conditions of relatively low chloride content. However, Hg(OH) 2(aq) , and HgClOH (aq) were found to dominate over HgCl 2 in locations with high pH due emissions of agricultural ammonia; i.e. San Joaquin and Sacramento Valleys, CA. At concentrations relevant to typical cloud and fog waters, carboxylic acids (e.g. formate and acetate) did not play a significant role in Hg(II) speciation. Methyl mercury was speciated as MeHgCl in most locations, except for the locations with high pH, where MeHgOH dominated. These results provide constraints over potential reaction pathways that may transform oxidized Hg(II) in clouds and fogs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Speciation of Mercury (II) and Methylmercury in Cloud and Fog Water

Bittrich

Chadwick

Babiarz

et al. 2011

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

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“…However, because fish and waterfowl assimilate most of their Hg burden from their diet, the correlations detected between environmental factors and their Hg loads cannot be direct. Rather, it is more likely that these correlations reflect causal connections between environmental factors and MeHg assimilation in the prey of fish and waterfowl (Westcott and Kalff 1996;Lawson and Mason 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predictive models of benthic invertebrate methylmercury in Ontario and Quebec lakes

Rennie¹,

Collins²,

Purchase³

et al. 2005

Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci.

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Multivariate analyses on benthic invertebrate methylmercury concentrations ([MeHg]) and water chemistry from 12 Quebec water bodies were used to guide the construction of simple, predictive models of benthic invertebrate [MeHg] in 23 lakes in Ontario and Quebec. Separate predictive models for collector-shredder and predatory benthic invertebrates were constructed using multiple regression and were assessed for their predictive utility by crossvalidation. Predatory benthic invertebrate [MeHg] was negatively related to pH and positively related to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration (cross-validation r 2 = 0.31). Collector-shredder [MeHg] was positively related to [DOC] only (cross-validation r 2 = 0.13). Predictive utility of our models is similar to or surpasses that observed in previously published zooplankton MeHg models tested against independently collected data. Significant environmental variables and their contribution to the overall explanatory power of benthic invertebrate MeHg models are similar to those found in zooplankton models, suggesting that in both pelagic and benthic food webs, pH and DOC are important indicators of MeHg bioavailability. Although seasonal patterns in invertebrate [MeHg] were examined, none was detected. These models represent an effective means of identifying water bodies of interest for researchers and for reconstructing past benthic invertebrate [MeHg] patterns using archived water chemistry data.

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“…Westcott and Kalff (1996) showed that the taxonomic composition of the zooplankton did not contribute to the variability in MeHg levels in Cladocera. In the present study, only Leptodora kindtii showed higher MeHg concentration.…”

Section: Leuciscus Leuciscus Rutilus Rutilus Abramis Abrama and Almentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Variability in pH, water color, drainage ratio, and the percent wetland in the catchment can have an impact on MeHg concentration in a lake (Westcott andKalff 1996, Tremblay et al 1998).…”

Section: Leuciscus Leuciscus Rutilus Rutilus Abramis Abrama and Almentioning

confidence: 99%

Prédation planctonique des deux principaux poissons fourrages pélagiques du Lac Saint-Jean :

Plourde¹

2011

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Environmental factors affecting methyl mercury accumulation in zooplankton

Cited by 24 publications

References 10 publications

Speciation of Mercury (II) and Methylmercury in Cloud and Fog Water

Speciation of Mercury (II) and Methylmercury in Cloud and Fog Water

Predictive models of benthic invertebrate methylmercury in Ontario and Quebec lakes

Prédation planctonique des deux principaux poissons fourrages pélagiques du Lac Saint-Jean :

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