What Is the Fate of Mercury Entering the Arctic Environment?
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Trophic Transfer of Mercury in a Subtropical Coral Reef Food Web
Trophic Transfer of Mercury in a Subtropical Coral Reef Food Web _______________________________________________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences Florida Gulf Coast University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Science ________________________________________________________________________ By Christopher Tyler Lienhardt 2015 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science ____________________________ Christopher Tyler Lienhardt Approved: July 2015 ____________________________ Darren G. Rumbold, Ph.D. Committee Chair / Advisor ____________________________ Michael L. Parsons, Ph.D. ____________________________ Ai Ning Loh, Ph. D. The final copy of this thesis has been examined by the signatories, and we find that both the content and the form meet acceptable presentation standards of scholarly work in the above mentioned discipline. i Acknowledgments This research would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of numerous friends and family. First and foremost I would like to thank my major advisor, Dr. Darren Rumbold, for giving me the opportunity to play a part in some of the great research he is conducting, and add another piece to the puzzle that is mercury biomagnification research. The knowledge, wisdom and skills imparted unto me over the past three years, I cannot thank him enough for. I would also like to thank Dr. Michael Parsons for giving me a shot to be a part of the field team and assist in the conducting of our research. I also owe him thanks for his guidance and the nature of his graduate courses, which helped prepare me to take on such a task. -
Protein Components of the Microbial Mercury Methylation Pathway
Protein Components of the Microbial Mercury Methylation Pathway ______________________________________________________________ A Dissertation presented to the faculty of the Graduate School at the University of Missouri - Columbia ____________________________________________________ In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy __________________________________________ by Steven D. Smith Dr. Judy D. Wall, Dissertation Supervisor December 2015 The undersigned, appointed by the dean of the Graduate School, have examined the dissertation titled Protein Components of the Microbial Mercury Methylation Pathway Presented by Steven D. Smith, a candidate for the degree of doctor of philosophy, and hereby certify that, in their opinion, it is worthy of acceptance. ____________________________________________ Dr. Judy D. Wall ____________________________________________ Dr. David W. Emerich ____________________________________________ Dr. Thomas P. Quinn ____________________________________________ Dr. Michael J. Calcutt Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my parents and family for their constant support and patience. They have never failed to be there for me. I would like to thank all members of the Wall Lab. At one time or another each one of them has helped me in some way. In particular I would like to thank Barb Giles for her insight into the dynamics of the lab and for her support of me through these years. I am greatly appreciative to Dr. Judy Wall for the opportunity to earn my PhD in her lab. Her constant support and unending confidence in me has been a great source of motivation. It has been an incredible learning experience that I will carry with me and draw from for the rest of my life. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ii List of Figures …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. -
Calculation of Critical Loads for Cadmium, Lead and Mercury
Calculation of critical loads for cadmium, lead and mercury Commissioned by the Dutch Ministries of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and of Housing, Spatial Planning and Environment 2 Alterra-report 1104 Calculation of critical loads for cadmium, lead and mercury Background document to a Mapping Manual on Critical Loads of cadmium, lead and mercury W. de Vries G. Schütze S. Lofts E. Tipping M. Meili P. F.A.M. Römkens J.E. Groenenberg Alterra-report 1104 Alterra, Wageningen, 2005 ABSTRACT Vries, W. de, G. Schütze, S. Lofts, E. Tipping, M. Meili, P.F.A.M. Römkens and J.E. Groenenberg, 2005. Calculation of critical loads for cadmium, lead and mercury. Background document to a Mapping Manual on Critical Loads of cadmium, lead and mercury. Wageningen, Alterra, Alterra-report 1104. 143 blz.; 1 fig; 13 tables.; 53 refs This report on heavy metals provides up-to-date methodologies to derive critical loads for the heavy metals cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg) for both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. It presents background information to a Manual on Critical Loads for those metals. Focus is given to the methodologies and critical limits that have to be used to derive critical loads can be derived for Cd, Pb and Hg in view of : (i) ecotoxicological effects for either terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems.and (ii) human health effects for either terrestrial or aquatic ecosystems. For Hg, a separate approach is described to estimate critical levels in precipitation in view of human health effects due to the consumption of fish. The limitations and uncertainties of the approach are discussed including: (i) the uncertainties and particularities of the steady-state models used and (ii) the reliability of the approaches that are applied to derive critical limits for critical total dissolved metal concentrations in soil solution and surface water. -
Mercury and the Methylmercury Exposure in the U.S
Mercury and the Methylmercury Exposure in the U.S. Developing Brain Methylmercury is a neurotoxin – a substance Introduction that damages, destroys, or impairs the functioning of nerve tissue. In the U.S., the Children are most vulnerable to mercury general population is exposed to various exposure, whether exposed in utero or as forms of mercury through inhalation, young children. Mercury affects the consumption of contaminated food or water, developing brain, causing neurological and exposure to substances containing problems that manifest themselves as vision mercury, such as vaccines. Different and hearing difficulties, delays in the chemical types of mercury can adversely development of motor skills and language affect several organ systems, with the acquisition, and later, lowered IQ points, severity of effects depending largely on the problems with memory and attention magnitude and timing of the exposure (i.e., deficits. These developmental deficits may during fetal development or as a child or 1 translate into a wide range of learning adult). Outside of occupational settings, difficulties once children are in school. methylmercury is the most toxic form of mercury to which humans are regularly This report explains the sources of mercury exposed and this form of mercury is the in the environment and how people are focus of the health impacts discussed in this exposed. The physical changes that occur in report. Exposure to methylmercury in the the developing brain due to mercury U.S. is almost exclusively from eating fish exposure during pregnancy are described and shellfish. along with how these changes later translate into learning difficulties in school. The Methylmercury poses the greatest hazard to report estimates the societal and economic the developing fetus. -
A Model of Mercury Cycling and Isotopic Fractionation in the Ocean
Biogeosciences, 15, 6297–6313, 2018 https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6297-2018 © Author(s) 2018. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. A model of mercury cycling and isotopic fractionation in the ocean David E. Archer1 and Joel D. Blum2 1Department of the Geophysical Sciences, University of Chicago, Chicago, 60637, USA 2Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA Correspondence: David E. Archer ([email protected]) Received: 5 March 2018 – Discussion started: 7 March 2018 Revised: 21 August 2018 – Accepted: 21 September 2018 – Published: 26 October 2018 Abstract. Mercury speciation and isotopic fractionation pro- 1 Background cesses have been incorporated into the HAMOCC offline ocean tracer advection code. The model is fast enough to The element mercury (Hg) is a powerful neurotoxin (Clark- allow a wide exploration of the sensitivity of the Hg cycle son and Magos, 2006). When transformed to methyl mer- in the oceans, and of factors controlling human exposure to cury (MeHg) it is known to amplify its toxicity by bio- monomethyl-Hg through the consumption of fish. Vertical accumulating up the food chain. The main human exposure particle transport of Hg appears to play a discernable role to MeHg is via consumption of high trophic level seafood in setting present-day Hg distributions, which we surmise (Chen et al., 2016; Schartup et al., 2018). Humans have been by the fact that in simulations without particle transport, the mining and mobilizing Hg into the Earth surface environ- high present-day Hg deposition rate leads to an Hg maxi- ment for hundreds of years, as a by-product of coal com- mum at the sea surface, rather than a subsurface maximum bustion, for its use in gold mining, and in products such as as observed. -
Mercury Cycling in Sulfur Rich Sediment from the Brunswick Estuary
Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Summer 2017 Mercury Cycling in Sulfur Rich Sediment From The Brunswick Estuary Travis William Nicolette Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the Environmental Engineering Commons Recommended Citation Nicolette, Travis William, "Mercury Cycling in Sulfur Rich Sediment From The Brunswick Estuary" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1626. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1626 This thesis (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MERCURY CYCLING IN SULFUR RICH SEDIMENTS FROM THE BRUNSWICK ESTUARY by TRAVIS NICOLETTE (Under the direction of major professor Franciscan Cubas) ABSTRACT Mercury is potentially toxic to the environment. Mercury is absorbed into anaerobic sediments of surface waters, which may be converted to methylmercury, a toxic form of mercury that bio-accumulates in aquatic biota. Sources of mercury in the environment vary, but the production of methylmercury is common in sulfur-rich sediments containing mercury. In such environments, sulfur reducing bacteria (SRB) produce methylmercury as a by-product. The metabolic process uses energy from the reduction of sulfate to sulfide. This study focuses on determining the methylmercury production and release potential from sulfur-rich sediments extracted from different areas of the Brunswick Estuary. Previous studies note considerable levels of mercury in the Brunswick Estuary due to a local super fund site. -
The Influence of Ecological Processes on the Accumulation of Persistent Organochlorines in Aquatic Ecosystems
master The influence of ecological processes on the accumulation of persistent organochlorines in aquatic ecosystems Olof Berglund DISTRIBUTION OF THIS DOCUMENT IS IKLOTED FORBGN SALES PROHIBITED eX - Department of Ecology Chemical Ecology and Ecotoxicology Lund University, Sweden Lund 1999 DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. The influence of ecologicalprocesses on the accumulation of persistent organochlorinesin aquatic ecosystems Olof Berglund Akademisk avhandling, som for avlaggande av filosofie doktorsexamen vid matematisk-naturvetenskapliga fakulteten vid Lunds Universitet, kommer att offentligen forsvaras i Bla Hallen, Ekologihuset, Solvegatan 37, Lund, fredagen den 17 September 1999 kl. 10. Fakultetens opponent: Prof. Derek C. G. Muir, National Water Research Institute, Environment Canada, Burlington, Canada. Avhandlingen kommer att forsvaras pa engelska. Organization Document name LUND UNIVERSITY DOCTORAL DISSERTATION Department of Ecology Dateofi=" Sept 1,1999 Chemical Ecology and Ecotoxicology S-223 62 Lund CODEN: SE-LUNBDS/NBKE-99/1016+144pp Sweden Authors) Sponsoring organization Olof Berglund Title and subtitle The influence of ecological processes on the accumulation of persistent organochlorines in aquatic ecosystems Abstract Several ecological processes influences the fate, transport, and accumulation of persistent organochlorines (OCs) in aquatic ecosystems. In this thesis, I have focused on two processes, namely (i) the food chain bioaccumulation of OCs, and (ii) the trophic status of the aquatic system. To test the biomagnification theory, I investigated PCB concentrations in planktonic food chains in lakes. The concentra tions of PCB on a lipid basis did not increase with increasing trophic level. Hence, I could give no support to the theory of bio magnification. -
Mercury Fate and Transport: Applying Scientific Research to Reduce the Risk from Mercury in Gulf of Mexico Seafood
White Paper on Gulf of Mexico Mercury Fate and Transport: Applying Scientific Research to Reduce the Risk from Mercury in Gulf of Mexico Seafood February 2013 Gulf of Mexico Alliance Water Quality Team - Mercury Workgroup Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Water Quality Team GOMA Mercury Workgroup, White Paper Writing Team* David Evans National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Mark Cohen National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chad Hammerschmidt Wright State University William Landing Florida State University Darren Rumbold Florida Gulf Coast University James Simons Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi Steve Wolfe Florida Institute of Oceanography/Gulf of Mexico Alliance *Note, document reviewed by Mercury Workgroup members and comments incorporated prior to release. Contents (hot linked, control-click on Contents entry to go to that location in document) Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 3 Section 1. Identification of at-risk groups................................................................................. 5 Research Needs and Approaches ............................................................................................... 6 Section 2. What Fish Species Have High Mercury Concentrations and Where Are They Found? .......................................................................................................................................... 8 Fish Harvests in the Gulf of Mexico ......................................................................................... -
Uptake and Trophic Transfer for Mercury and Methylmercury at the Base of Marine Food Webs Kathleen J
University of Connecticut OpenCommons@UConn Doctoral Dissertations University of Connecticut Graduate School 3-31-2016 Uptake and Trophic Transfer for Mercury and Methylmercury at the Base of Marine Food Webs Kathleen J. Gosnell University of Connecticut - Storrs, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations Recommended Citation Gosnell, Kathleen J., "Uptake and Trophic Transfer for Mercury and Methylmercury at the Base of Marine Food Webs" (2016). Doctoral Dissertations. 1043. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/dissertations/1043 Uptake and Trophic Transfer for Mercury and Methylmercury at the Base of Marine Food Webs Kathleen Joëhr Gosnell, PhD University of Connecticut, 2016 Methylmercury (MeHg) is bioconcentrated in phytoplankton and transferred via consumption to zooplankton, planktivorous fish, and eventually larger predators. This dissertation research investigated the transfer of Hg and MeHg from phytoplankton to zooplankton through laboratory experiments and field measurements for several different realms of the marine environment, including coastal, oceanic, and polar regions. Phytoplankton samples were size fractioned into 0.2-5 µm, 5-20 µm, and seston of >20 µm samples, and demonstrate distinctive regional and global variations. The MeHg bioconcentration factors (logBCF) for phytoplankton in the Pacific Ocean had logBCF values that averaged 5.7 ± 1.0 and were higher than the range for Long Island Sound and coastal regions (2.6-5). Zooplankton samples were analyzed for Hg and MeHg at size fractionations of 0.2-0.5 mm, 0.5-1.0 mm, 1.0-2.0 mm and >2.0 mm. The %MeHg in the organisms was typically highest in the largest size class, displaying MeHg bioaccumulation for increasing zooplankton sizes. -
New Method for the Derivation of Risk Limits for Secondary Poisoning
New method for the derivation of risk limits for secondary poisoning RIVM Letter report 2014-0097 E.M.J. Verbruggen New method for the derivation of risk limits for secondary poisoning RIVM Letter report 2014-0097 E.M.J. Verbruggen RIVM Letter report 2014-0097 Colophon This investigation has been performed by order and for the account of Ministry for Infrastructure and the Environment, Safety and Risk Division © RIVM 2014 Parts of this publication may be reproduced, provided acknowledgement is given to the 'National Institute for Public Health and the Environment', along with the title and year of publication. E.M.J. Verbruggen Contact: Eric Verbruggen Centre Safety of Substances and Products (VSP) [email protected] This is a publication of: National Institute for Public Health and the Environment P.O. Box 1│3720 BA Bilthoven The Netherlands www.rivm.nl/en Page 2 of 47 RIVM Letter report 2014-0097 Synopsis New method for the derivation of risk limits for secondary poisoning Chemicals can enter plants or animals through soil or water. This can be directly harmful to the organism, but also indirectly for the animals that eat this organism. RIVM proposes a new method by which the effect of this 'secondary poisoning' for birds and mammals in the food chain can be accurately determined. This is important to set more realistic risk limits for substances. The new method differs on some points from the methods already included in the current European directives. Firstly, the concentration to which the animal is exposed is calculated in a different way. -
Mercury Monitoring Research and Environmental Assessment
2003 Everglades Consolidated Report Chapter 2B: Mercury Monitoring Chapter 2B: Mercury Monitoring, Research and Environmental Assessment Tom Atkeson and Don Axelrad1 SUMMARY The problem of mercury in the Everglades has been evident since the late 1980s, when testing of largemouth bass revealed levels of mercury that exceeded all health-based standards. At that time virtually nothing was known about mercury in Florida’s environment, including its causes, effects, risks and potential solutions. In response, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Department or FDEP) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD or District) organized a multi-agency group, the goal of which would be to work toward understanding the root causes of the mercury problem in Florida. Operating as the South Florida Mercury Science Program, these agencies have improved the predictive understanding of the sources, transformations and fate of mercury in the Everglades. The program has also been effective at linking local information to that at regional and global levels to better support decision making in South Florida and improve the estimation of risks to fish-eating Everglades wildlife. General information on the nature of the environmental mercury cycle has been presented in previous Everglades Consolidated Reports (ECRs) and can be found in Chapter 7 of both the 2000 and 2001 ECR and in Chapter 2B of the 2002 ECR. Important, updated findings from this collaborative effort on mercury include the following: S Atmospheric deposition accounts for greater than 95 percent of the external load of mercury to the Everglades. Once deposited, the effect of newly deposited mercury is quickly felt through rapid methylmercury production occurring over a period of hours to days. -
Gagne Et Al. 2019
Environ. Res. Commun. 1 (2019) 111006 https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ab4921 LETTER Coupled trophic and contaminant analysis in seabirds through OPEN ACCESS space and time RECEIVED 21 June 2019 Tyler O Gagné1 , Elizabeth M Johnson5, K David Hyrenbach2, Molly E Hagemann3, Oron L Bass4, REVISED Mark MacDonald6, Brian Peck7 and Kyle S Van Houtan1,5 26 September 2019 1 Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA 93940, United States of America ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION 2 fi 30 September 2019 Hawaii Paci c University, Kaneohe, HI 96744, United States of America 3 Vertebrate Zoology Collections, Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI 96817 United States of America PUBLISHED 4 South Florida Natural Resources Center, Everglades National Park, Homestead, FL 33030, United States of America 29 October 2019 5 Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, United States of America 6 Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, Pago Pago, American Samoa, United States of America Original content from this 7 Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pago Pago, American Samoa, United States of America work may be used under the terms of the Creative E-mail: [email protected] Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Keywords: heavy metals, trophic dynamics, food webs, global change Any further distribution of Supplementary material for this article is available online this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI. Abstract Wildlife contaminant loads are often used to indicate ecosystem health, but their interpretation is complicated by the dynamics affecting the trophic transfer of toxins.