Phase II Report Chapter 14. Temporal and Geographic Trends in Mercury
PENOBSCOT RIVER MERCURY STUDY Chapter 14 Temporal and geographic trends in mercury in biota in the Penobscot estuary Submitted to Judge John Woodcock United States District Court (District of Maine) April 2013 By A.D. Kopec1 and R.A. Bodaly1 1. Penobscot River Mercury Study Fish and Shellfish Collections Kimberley Payne, Rick Simmons, Marcia Bowen, Corey Francis, Chuck Porembski, Ethan Sobo, Steve Lee, Sheila and Mike Dassatt Normandeau Associates, Inc. 8 Fundy Road Falmouth, Maine 04105 Bird and Mammal Collections Oksana Lane, David Evers, Lucas Savoy, Wing Goodale, David Yates Biodiversity Research Institute 652 Maine Street Gorham, Maine 04038 Black Duck Collections Kelsey Sullivan, Brad Allen, Houston Cady Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Bangor Research Office 650 State Street Bangor, Maine 04401 1 SUMMARY Mercury (Hg) concentrations in fish, birds and bats were monitored between 2006 and 2010 in the lower Penobscot River, upper Penobscot Bay and in upstream and coastal reference sites. The monitoring study was designed to examine trends in Hg concentrations over time, the geographic pattern of Hg contamination in relation to the HoltraChem site, health threats created by the Hg contamination, and the severity of the contamination in comparison to other sites sampled throughout the world. Note that the current four to five-year monitoring period is insufficient to determine long-term trends in the region. The presence or absence of significant trends in Hg concentrations over time is relevant only for the current monitoring period. Between 2006 and 2010 we found significant variation in Hg concentrations at a few sites, but no overall trends in most species of biota, including fish (American eels, tomcod, rainbow smelt, winter flounder), lobster, and birds (Nelson’s sparrow, song sparrow, swamp sparrow, red-winged blackbird, Virginia rail).
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