The influence of trophic level as measured by ?15N on mercury concentrations in freshwater organisms

Kidd, Karen A.; Hesslein, Raymond H.; Fudge, R. J. P.; Hallard, K. A.

doi:10.1007/bf01189756

Cited by 189 publications

(118 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The highest fish Hg levels were found in the large, fish-eating predatory species at the top of aquatic food webs, while the lowest Hg levels were seen in fish species feeding lower in the food web (e.g., feeding on plankton and invertebrates). This pattern, which reflects the biomagnification of methylmercury (meHg) in aquatic food webs, has been observed consistently elsewhere in North America (e.g., Kidd et al, 1995;Simonin and Meyer, 1998;Schetagne and Verdon, 1999;Mueller and Serdar, 2002).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 54%

Mercury in Freshwater Fish of Northeast North America ? A Geographic Perspective Based on Fish Tissue Monitoring Databases

et al. 2005

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Abstract. As part of an initiative to assemble and synthesize mercury (Hg) data from environmental matrices across northeastern North America, we analyzed a large dataset comprised of 15,305 records of fish tissue Hg data from 24 studies from New York State to Newfoundland. These data were summarized to provide mean Hg concentrations for 40 fish species and associated families. Detailed analyses were carried out using data for 13 species. Hg in fishes varied by geographic area, waterbody type, and waterbody. The four species with the highest mean Hg concentrations were muskellunge (Esox masquinongy), walleye (Sander vitreus), white perch (Morone americana), and northern pike (Esox luscius). Several species displayed elevated Hg concentrations in reservoirs, relative to lakes and rivers. Normalized deviations from mean tissue levels for yellow perch (Perca flavescens) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) were mapped, illustrating how Hg concentrations in these species varied across northeastern North America. Certain geographic regions showed generally below or above-average Hg concentrations in fish, while significant heterogeneity was evident across the landscape. The proportion of waterbodies exhibiting exceedances of USEPA's criterion for fish methylmercury ranged from 14% for standard-length brook trout fillets to 42% for standard-length yellow perch fillets. A preliminary correlation analysis showed that fish Hg concentrations were related to waterbody acidity and watershed size.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 54%

Mercury in Freshwater Fish of Northeast North America ? A Geographic Perspective Based on Fish Tissue Monitoring Databases

et al. 2005

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“…␦R‰ ϭ ͓͑R sample /R standard ͒ Ϫ1͔ ϫ 1,000, where R ϭ 15 N/ 14 N or 13 C/ 12 C (32). A normalized calibration curve based on NBS-22 and IAEACH-6 for carbon and IAEA-N-1 and IAEA-N-2 for nitrogen was used to calculate ␦ 15 N and ␦ 13 C. Standards were from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Increased lake productivity can reduce Hg biomagnification (7,8) [by means of biomass (9,10) and growth dilution (11)], causing fishes in nutrient-enriched lakes to have lower concentrations of Hg than fishes from reference lakes (7), although food chains are the same length. Conversely, increased Hg bioaccumulation may occur because of enhanced Hg inputs to lakes (1) or increases in food chain length (nitrogen stable isotope ratio; ␦ 15 N) (12,13). As a result, MeHg concentrations in fishes from adjacent lakes that are not subjected to point-source pollution can range from very low to those that exceed guidelines to protect the health of human and wildlife consumers (14).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Forest fire increases mercury accumulation by fishes via food web restructuring and increased mercury inputs

Kelly

Schindler

Louis

et al. 2006

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

134

121

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Recent findings indicate that fishes from lakes in partially burned catchments contain greater mercury (Hg) concentrations than fishes from reference catchments. Increased methyl Hg (MeHg) concentrations in fishes can result in serious health problems for consumers. Here we show that a forest fire caused a 5-fold increase in whole-body Hg accumulation by rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and smaller Hg increases in muscle of several fish species in a mountain lake. The enhanced Hg accumulation was caused primarily by increased nutrient concentrations in the lake, which enhanced productivity and restructured the food web through increased piscivory and consumption of Mysis. This restructuring resulted in increases to the trophic positions and Hg concentrations of fishes. Forest fire also caused a large short-term release of total Hg (THg) and MeHg to streams and the lake. This release initiated a small pulse of MeHg in invertebrates that contributed to enhanced Hg accumulation by fishes. Climate change and prescribed burning to compensate for past fire suppression are predicted to increase future forest fire occurrence in North America, and increased Hg accumulation by fishes may be an unexpected consequence.productivity ͉ stable isotopes ͉ methyl mercury ͉ food chain length ͉ climate change

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“…Heavy metals are merely transferred through the diet. Indeed, heavy metal levels found in marine organisms depend not only on the environment contamination but also on several other ecological or physiological factors (Bouquegneau and Joiris, 1988;Andre et al, 1990a,b;Caurant et al, 1994), among which the diet and the position in the trophic web are determining elements (Bouquegneau and Joiris, 1992;Cabana and Rasmussen, 1994;Kidd et al, 1995;Stewart et al, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tuna and Dolphin Associations in the North-east Atlantic: Evidence of Different Ecological Niches from Stable Isotope and Heavy Metal Measurements

Das

Lepoint

Loizeau

et al. 2000

Marine Pollution Bulletin

132

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Associations of tunas and dolphins in the wild are quite frequent events and the question arises how predators requiring similar diet in the same habitat share their environmental resources. As isotopic composition of an animal is related to that of its preys, stable isotope ( 13 C/ 12 C and 15 N/ 14 N) analyses were performed in three predator species from the North-east Atlantic: the striped dolphin, Stenella coeruleoalba, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis and the albacore tuna, Thunnus alalunga, and compared to their previously described stomach content. Heavy metals (Cd, Zn, Cu and Fe) are mainly transferred through the diet and so, have been determined in the tissues of the animals. Tuna muscles display higher d 15 N than in common and striped dolphins (mean: 11.4 vs. 10.3½ and 10.4½, respectively) which re¯ects their higher trophic level nutrition. Higher d 13 C are found in common ()18.4½) and striped dolphin ()18.1½) muscles than in albacore tuna ()19.3½) probably in relation with its migratory pattern. The most striking feature is the presence of two levels of cadmium concentrations in the livers of the tunas (32 mg kg À1 dry weight (DW) vs. 5 mg kg À1 DW). These two groups also di er by their iron concentrations and their d 15 N and d 13 C liver values. These results suggest that in the Biscay Bay, tunas occupy two di erent ecological niches probably based on di erent squid inputs in their diet. Ó

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The influence of trophic level as measured by ?15N on mercury concentrations in freshwater organisms

Cited by 189 publications

References 14 publications

Mercury in Freshwater Fish of Northeast North America ? A Geographic Perspective Based on Fish Tissue Monitoring Databases

Mercury in Freshwater Fish of Northeast North America ? A Geographic Perspective Based on Fish Tissue Monitoring Databases

Forest fire increases mercury accumulation by fishes via food web restructuring and increased mercury inputs

Tuna and Dolphin Associations in the North-east Atlantic: Evidence of Different Ecological Niches from Stable Isotope and Heavy Metal Measurements

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