The Movement of Aquatic Mercury Through Terrestrial Food Webs

Abstract

Mercury has contaminated rivers worldwide, with health consequences for aquatic organisms and humans who consume them. Researchers have focused on aquatic birds as sentinels for mercury. However, trophic transfer between adjacent ecosystems could lead to the export of aquatic mercury to terrestrial habitats. Along a mercury-contaminated river in Virginia, United States, terrestrial birds had significantly elevated levels of mercury in their blood, similar to their aquatic-feeding counterparts. Diet analysis revealed that spiders delivered much of the dietary mercury. We conclude that aquatic mercury pollution can move into terrestrial habitats, where it biomagnifies to levels in songbirds that may cause adverse effects. Rivers contaminated with mercury may pose a threat to the many bird species that feed on predatory invertebrates in adjacent riparian habitats.

Elemental contamination of an open-pit mining area in the Peruvian Andes

“…Several studies (Cristol et al 2008;Edwards et al 2009;Velea et al 2009) show how water pollution can influence the contamination of animal (and probably human) tissues directly and indirectly. We studied this effect by determining the levels of several elements in blood samples.…”

In a state of flux: The energetic pathways that move contaminants from aquatic to terrestrial environments

“…We highlight the ways in which a new understanding of the aquatic-terrestrial interface has prompted an integrated view of cross-boundary contaminant flows within complex ecological networks. We pay particular attention to aquatic insects, which as an important source of energy for riparian consumers such as arthropods, birds, mammals, and reptiles, are especially likely to move contaminants into terrestrial ecosystems [4][5][6] (Fig. 1).…”

“…Spiders had more of the highly bioavailable methyl mercury than other invertebrates (e.g., lepidopterans and orthopterans) at the terrestrial-aquatic interface; therefore, they were thought to be responsible for transporting aquatic mercury into terrestrial food webs [4]. The implication is that changes in spider populations might alter mercury transport into food webs.…”

“…Menzie's conceptualization has since been supported in recent work, which has illustrated that emergent aquatic insects can indeed transport aquatically derived contaminants to the terrestrial environment, where they can be subsequently accumulated by riparian consumers (Table 1). Others have shown indirect evidence linking aquatically derived contaminants with riparian and terrestrial food webs via emergent insects [4].…”

Rapid colorimetric detection of Hg2+ ion by green silver nanoparticles synthesized using Dahlia pinnata leaf extract

“…Hg 2+ is considered to be one of the most harmful metal pollutants and found in soil, water and even food materials [25]. Exposure to this heavy metal at even very low concentration (~1 μm/ml) may cause digestive disorders [26], kidney dysfunction [27] and various neurological disorders as well [28,29].…”