Isotopes and otolith chemistry provide insight into the biogeochemical history of mercury in southern flounder across a salinity gradient.

Methylmercury (MeHg) continues to pose a significant global health risk to wildlife and humans through fish consumption. Despite numerous advancements in understanding the mercury (Hg) cycle, questions remain about MeHg sources that accumulate in fish, particularly across transitional coastal areas, where harvest is prominent and Hg sources are numerous. Here we used a unique combination of Hg and nutrient isotopes, and otolith chemistry to trace the biogeochemical history of Hg and identify Hg sources that accumulated in an economically important fish species across Mobile Bay, Alabama (USA).

Carbon, Nitrogen, and Mercury Isotope Evidence for the Biogeochemical History of Mercury in Hawaiian Marine Bottomfish.

The complex biogeochemical cycle of Hg makes identifying primary sources of fish tissue Hg problematic. To identify sources and provide insight into this cycle, we combined carbon (δC), nitrogen amino acid (δN), and Hg isotope (ΔHg, ΔHg, δHg) data for six species of Hawaiian marine bottomfish. Results from these isotopic systems identified individuals within species that likely fed from separate food webs.

Twitter Predicts Citation Rates of Ecological Research.

The relationship between traditional metrics of research impact (e.g., number of citations) and alternative metrics (altmetrics) such as Twitter activity are of great interest, but remain imprecisely quantified.

Mercury sources and trophic ecology for Hawaiian bottomfish.

In Hawaii, some of the most important commercial and recreational fishes comprise an assemblage of lutjanids and carangids called bottomfish. Despite their importance, we know little about their trophic ecology or where the mercury (Hg) that ultimately resides in their tissue originates. Here we investigated these topics, by analyzing muscle samples for mercury content, nitrogen, carbon, and amino acid specific nitrogen isotope ratios in six species distributed across different depths from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) and the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI).

Sources of endocrine-disrupting compounds in North Carolina waterways: a geographic information systems approach.

The presence of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), particularly estrogenic compounds, in the environment has drawn public attention across the globe, yet a clear understanding of the extent and distribution of estrogenic EDCs in surface waters and their relationship to potential sources is lacking. The objective of the present study was to identify and examine the potential input of estrogenic EDC sources in North Carolina water bodies using a geographic information system (GIS) mapping and analysis approach. Existing data from state and federal agencies were used to create point and nonpoint source maps depicting the cumulative contribution of potential sources of estrogenic EDCs to North Carolina surface waters.

The influence of fish length on tissue mercury dynamics: implications for natural resource management and human health risk.

Consumption of fish has well-known human health benefits, though some fish may contain elevated levels of mercury (Hg) that are especially harmful to developing children. Fish length is most often the basis for establishing fishery harvest regulations that determine which fish will ultimately be consumed by humans. It is, therefore, essential to quantify the relationship between fish length and Hg accumulation in regard to harvest regulations for effective fishery and public health policy.

Using river distance and existing hydrography data can improve the geostatistical estimation of fish tissue mercury at unsampled locations.

Mercury in fish tissue is a major human health concern. Consumption of mercury-contaminated fish poses risks to the general population, including potentially serious developmental defects and neurological damage in young children. Therefore, it is important to accurately identify areas that have the potential for high levels of bioaccumulated mercury.

Does proximity to coal-fired power plants influence fish tissue mercury?

Much of the mercury contamination in aquatic biota originates from coal-fired power plants, point sources that release mercury into the atmosphere. Understanding mercury dynamics is primarily important because of the toxic threat mercury poses to wildlife and humans through the consumption of contaminated fish. In this study, we quantified the relative importance of proximity to coal-fired power plants on mercury accumulation in two fish species of different trophic positions.