| Bioaccumulation syndrome: identifying factors that make some stream food webs prone to elevated mercury bioaccumulation. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 20536817 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Mercury is a ubiquitous contaminant in aquatic ecosystems, posing a significant health risk to humans and wildlife that eat fish. Mercury accumulates in aquatic food webs as methylmercury (MeHg), a particularly toxic and persistent organic mercury compound. While mercury in the environment originates largely from anthropogenic activities, MeHg accumulation in freshwater aquatic food webs is not a simple function of local or regional mercury pollution inputs. Studies show that even sites with similar mercury inputs can produce fish with mercury concentrations ranging over an order of magnitude. While much of the foundational work to identify the drivers of variation in mercury accumulation has focused on freshwater lakes, mercury contamination in stream ecosystems is emerging as an important research area. Here, we review recent research on mercury accumulation in stream-dwelling organisms. Taking a hierarchical approach, we identify a suite of characteristics of individual consumers, food webs, streams, watersheds, and regions that are consistently associated with elevated MeHg concentrations in stream fish. We delineate a conceptual, mechanistic basis for explaining the ecological processes that underlie this vulnerability to MeHg. Key factors, including suppressed individual growth of consumers, low rates of primary and secondary production, hydrologic connection to methylation sites (e.g., wetlands), heavily forested catchments, and acidification are frequently associated with increased MeHg concentrations in fish across both streams and lakes. Hence, we propose that these interacting factors define a syndrome of characteristics that drive high MeHg production and bioaccumulation rates across these freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Finally, based on an understanding of the ecological drivers of MeHg accumulation, we identify situations when anthropogenic effects and management practices could significantly exacerbate or ameliorate MeHg accumulation in stream fish. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Darren M Ward; Keith H Nislow; Carol L Folt |
Related Documents
:
|
15589247 - Seasonal, interannual, and long-term variation in sport fish contamination, san francis... 22438927 - A single-stranded dna aptamer that selectively binds to staphylococcus aureus enterotox... 16227077 - Changes in mercury and cadmium concentrations and the feeding behaviour of beluga (delp... 11759567 - Review of effects of water pollution on the breeding success of waterbirds, with partic... 10642457 - The effect of age, sex, and education on food consumption of a middle-aged english coho... 566067 - Studies concerning the metabolites produced by stachybotrys atra, penicillium islandicu... |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Volume: 1195 ISSN: 1749-6632 ISO Abbreviation: Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. Publication Date: 2010 May |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2010-06-11 Completed Date: 2010-07-09 Revised Date: 2011-07-28 |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7506858 Medline TA: Ann N Y Acad Sci Country: United States |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 62-83 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA. darren.ward@dartmouth.edu |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Animals Biodiversity* Fishes Food Chain* Humans Mercury / adverse effects* Methylmercury Compounds / adverse effects* Oceans and Seas Rivers Water Pollutants, Chemical / adverse effects* |
| Grant Support | |
ID/Acronym/Agency:
|
ES07373/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS; P42 ES007373-160016/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
|
0/Methylmercury Compounds; 0/Water Pollutants, Chemical; 7439-97-6/Mercury |
| Comments/Corrections | |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Nitrogen enrichment and plant communities.
Next Document: Habitat fragmentation, climate change, and inbreeding in plants.