Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Methylmercury Concentrations in Fish from Tidal Waters of The Chesapeake Bay

  • Published:
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Striped bass (Morone saxatilis), white perch (Morone Americana), and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) were collected in the Chesapeake Bay mainstem and tributaries and analyzed for total mercury (Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) content. Striped bass are anadromous, whereas white perch and largemouth bass are resident species, and the largemouth bass are also restricted to the tidal fresh portion of the Bay. Total Hg and MeHg concentrations in striped bass increased with fish size, and large fish (>7.5 kg wet weight) tended to have MeHg concentrations of 300 ng g−1 or greater. On average, the striped bass MeHg concentration was 120 ± 100 ng g−1 and the fraction of the total Hg as MeHg was 65 ± 22%. Reasons for the lower relative MeHg content are discussed. Otolith strontium/calcium ratios were also determined to examine whether migration had a significant impact on MeHg content in striped bass. Resident fish did appear to have a higher MeHg burden than the more migratory fish of similar size. Largemouth bass and white perch tended to have low MeHg content (respectively, 14 ± 7 and 13 ± 11 ng g−1; all fish <1 kg wet weight), and the white perch also had a low %MeHg (28 ± 14%), reflecting their mostly planktivorous lifestyle. A comparison of largemouth bass and striped bass MeHg concentrations for the estuarine fish with those of fish in Maryland reservoirs of similar size showed that the estuarine fish have much lower MeHg burdens. Differences in MeHg concentration in the estuarine waters compared to the reservoir waters likely account for much of this difference, although the importance of other factors is also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Baeyens W, Leermarkers M (1996) Particulate, dissolved and methylmercury budgets for the Scheldt estuary (Belgium and the Netherlands). In: Baeyens W, et al. (eds) Global and regional mercury cycles: sources, fluxes, and mass balances. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. pp 285

    Google Scholar 

  • Baeyens W, Leermakers M, Papina T, Saprykin A, Brion N, Noyen J, De Gieter M, Elskens M, Goeyens L (2003) Bioconcentration and biomagnification of mercury and methylmercury in North Sea and Scheldt estuary fish. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 45:498–508

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benoit JM, Gilmour CC, Heyes A, Mason RP, Miller CL (2003) Geochemical and biological controls over methylmercury production and degradation in aquatic ecosystems. In: Biogeochemistry of environmentally important trace elements. American Chemical Society Publ, ACS symposium series 835, pp 262–297

  • Benoit JM, Gilmour CC, Mason RP, Heyes A (1999) Sulfide controls on mercury speciation and bioavailability in sediment pore waters. Environ Sci Technol 33:951–957

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benoit JM, Gilmour CC, Mason RP, Riedel GS, Riedel GF (1998) Behavior of mercury in the Patuxent estuary. Biogeochem 40:249–265

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Benoit JM, Mason RP, Gilmour CC (2001) Aspects of the bioavailability of mercury for methylation in pure cultures of Desulfobulbous proprionicus (1PR3). Appl Environ Microbiol 67:51–58

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blankenship K (2004) Menhaden stock perplexes fish managers. bay J 14(6). http://www.bayjournal.com/04-09/menhaden.htm

  • Bloom NS (1989) Determination of picogram levels of methylmercury by aqueous phase ethylation, followed by cryogenic gas chromatography with cold vapor atomic fluorescence detection. Can J Fish Aqua Sci 46:1131–1140

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom NS (1992) On the chemical form of mercury in edible fish and marine invertebrate tissue. Can J Fish Aqua Sci 49:1010–1017

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom NS, Fitzgerald WF (1988) Determination of volatile species at the picogram level by low temperature gas chromatography with cold vapor atomic fluorescence detection. Analytical Chim Acta 208:151–161

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham P, Cooter W, Sullivan E (2003) Mercury in marine life database. Prepared by RTI International for USEPA, April 2003

  • Driscoll CT, Blette V, Yan C, Schofield CL, Munson R, Holsapple J (1995) The role of dissolved organic carbon in the chemistry and bio availability of mercury in remote Adirondack lakes. Water Air Soil Poll 80:499–508

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald WF, Clarkson T (1991) Mercury and monomethylmercury—present and future concerns. Environ Health Perspect 96:159–166

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour CC (1999) A preliminary survey of size-specific mercury concentrations in game fish from Maryland fresh and estuarine waters. Chesapeake bay and watershed programs: monitoring and non-tidal assessment CBWP-MANTA-AD-98-9

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour CC, Henry EA, Mitchell R (1992) Sulfate stimulation of mercury methylation in freshwater sediments. Environ Sci Technol 26:2281–2287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gilmour CC, Riedel GS (2000) A survey of size-specific mercury concentrations in game fish from Maryland fresh and estuarine waters. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 39:53–59

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Greenfield BK, Davis JA, Fairey R, Roberts C, Crane DB, Ichikawa G, Petreas M (2003) Contaminant concentrations in fish from San Francisco Bay, 2000. SFEI Contribution # 77, San Francisco Estuary Institute, July 2003

  • Griffin JC, Margraf FJ (2003) The diet of Chesapeake bay striped bass in the late 1950s. Fish Manage Ecol 10:323–328

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heyes A, Mason RP, Kim E-H, Sunderland E (2005) Mercury methylation in estuaries. Mar Chem (in press)

  • Heyes A, Miller C, Mason RP (2004) Mercury and methylmercury in Hudson River Sediment: Impact of resuspension on portioning and methylation. Mar Chem 90:75–89

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hildebrand SF, Schroeder WC (1928) Fishes of Chesapeake Bay. Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, pp 242–251

  • Holsbeek L, Das HK, Joiris CR (1997) Mercury speciation and accumulation in Bangladesh freshwater and anadromous fish. Sci Tot Environ 198:201–210

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson RJM, Gherini SA, Watras CJ, Porcella DP (1994) Modeling the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in lakes: The mercury cycling model (MCM) and its application to the MTL study lakes. In: Watras CJ, Huckabee JW (eds), Mercury pollution: integration and synthesis. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, pp 473–526

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson River Foundation (HRF) (2004) Health of the harbor: The first comprehensive look at the state of the NY/NJ harbor estuary. http://www.harborestuary.org/reports/harborhealth.pdf

    Google Scholar 

  • Kannan K, Smith RG, Lee RF, Windom HL, Heitmuller PT, Macauley JM, Summers JK (1998) Distribution of total mercury and methyl mercury in water, sediment, and fish from south Florida estuaries. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 34:109–118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim EY, Saeki K, Tanabe S, et al. (1996) Specific accumulation of mercury and selenium in seabirds. Environ Poll 94:261–265

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kraus RT, Secor DH (2004) Incorporation of strontium into otoliths of an estuarine fish. J Exper Mar Biol Ecol 302:85–106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence AL, Mason RP (2001) Factors controlling the bioaccumulation of mercury and methylmercury by the estuarine amphipod Leptocheirus plumulosus. Environ Poll 111:217–231

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lawrence AL, McAloon KM, Mason RP, Mayer LM (1999) Intestinal solubilization of particle-associated organic and inorganic mercury as a measure of bioavailability to benthic invertebrates. Environ Sci Technol 33:1871–1876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mansueti RJ (1961) Age, growth, and movements of the striped bass, Roccus saxatilis, taken in size selective fishing gear in Maryland. Ches Sci 2:9–36

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP (2002) The bioaccumulation of mercury, methylmercury and other toxic elements into pelagic and benthic organisms. In: Newman MC, Robert MH, Hale RC (eds) Coastal and estuarine risk assessment. CRC/Lewis Publishers, pp 127–149

  • Mason RP, Benoit JM (2003) Organomercury compounds in the environment. In: Craig P (ed), Organometallics in the environment. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 57–99

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Fitzgerald WF (1996) Sources, sinks and biogeochemical cycling of mercury in the ocean. In: Baeyens W, Ebinghaus R, Vasiliev O (eds), Global and regional cycles of mercury: sources, fluxes and mass balances. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, pp 85–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Fitzgerald WF, Morel FM (1994) The biogeochemical cycling of elemental mercury: anthropogenic influences. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 58:3191–3198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Lawrence AL (1999) Concentration, distribution, and bioavailability of mercury and methylmercury in sediments of Baltimore Harbor and Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA. Environ Toxic Chem 18:2438–2447

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Lawson NM, Lawrence AL, Lee JG, Leaner JJ, Sheu G-R (1999) Mercury in the Chesapeake Bay. Mar Chem 65:77–96

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Lawson NM, Sheu G-R (2000) Annual and seasonal trends in mercury deposition in Maryland. Atmos Environ 34:1691–1701

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Lawson NM, Sullivan KA (1997) Atmospheric deposition to the Chesapeake bay watershed: regional and local sources. Atmos Environ 31:3531–3540

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Reinfelder JR, Morel FM (1996) Uptake, toxicity and trophic transfer of mercury in a coastal diatom. Environ Sci Technol 30:1835–1845

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Sheu G-R (2002) The role of the ocean in the global mercury cycle. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 16(4), 1093, doi:10.1029/2001GBC001440

  • Mason RP, Sveinsdottir AY (2003) Mercury and methylmercury concentrations in water and largemouth bass in Maryland reservoirs. Final report submitted to Maryland Department of Natural Resources, CBWP-MAN7A-AD-03-1. Also a paper on this topic is currently in review for Arch Environ Contam Toxicol

  • MDE (2004) Maryland Department of the Environment Mercury Website. http://www.mde.state.md.us/Programs/LandPrograms/Hazardous-Waste/Mercury

  • Morel FMM, Kraepiel AML, Amyot M (1998) The chemical cycle and bioaccumulation of mercury. Ann Review Ecol Systematics 29:543–566

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murdy EO, Birdsong RS, Musick JA (1997) Fishes of the Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London, pp 216–244

    Google Scholar 

  • National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (2003) Commercial and recreational fish of the Chesapeake Bay. http://www.noaa.chesapeakebay.net/species.htm

  • Riget F, Asmund G, Aastrup P (2000) Mercury in Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) populations from Greenland. Science Total Environ 245:161–172

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rochelle-Newall EJ, Fisher TR (2002) Chromophoric dissolved organic matter and dissolved organic carbon in Chesapeake Bay. Mar Chem 77:23–41

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers DW (1994) You are what you eat and a little bit more: bioenergetics-based models of methylmercury accumulation in fish revisited. In: Watras CJ, Huckabel JW (eds) Mercury pollution: integration and synthesis. Lewis Publishers, New York, pp 427–439

    Google Scholar 

  • Rolfhus KR, Fitzgerald WF (1995) Linkages between atmospheric mercury deposition and the methylmercury content of marine fish. Water Air Soil Poll 80:291–297

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rudd JWM (1995) Sources of methylmercury to freshwater ecosystems: A review. Water Air Soil Poll 80:697–713

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Secor DH, Rooker JR, Zlokovitz E, Zdanowicz VS (2001) Identification of riverine, estuarine, and coastal contingents of Hudson River striped bass based upon otolith elemental fingerprints. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 211:245–253

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sheu G-R, Mason RP, Lawson NM (2002) Speciation and distribution of atmospheric mercury over the Northern Chesapeake Bay. In: Lipnick RL, Mason RP, Phillips ML, Pittman CU Jr (eds) Chemicals in the environment: fate, impacts, and remediation. American Chemical Society Publishers, ACS symposium series no. 806, pp 223–242

  • Sveinsdottir AY (2002) Methylmercury in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and forage fish from Maryland reservoirs and factors influencing uptake. Masters Thesis. University of Maryland, Chesapeake Biological Laboratory

  • Sveinsdottir AY, Mason RP (2005) Factors controlling mercury and methylmercury concentrations in largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and other fish from Maryland reservoirs. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 49:528–545

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (1995) National listing of fish consumption advisories. USEPA, EPA-823-F-95-004, Office of Water, Washington, DC

  • USEPA (2004) Fish consumption advice webpage. http://www.epa. gov/waterscience/fishadvice/advice.html

  • US Federal Drug Administration (USFDA) (2002) Consumer advisory: an important message for pregnant women and women of childbearing age who may become pregnant about the risks of mercury in fish. http://www.vm.cfsan.fda.gov/∼dms/admehg.html

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Geological Service (USGS) Website (2004) http://www.md.water.usgs.gov/

  • Wagemann R, Trebacz E, Boila G, et al. (1998) Methylmercury and total mercury in tissues of arctic marine mammals. Sci Tot Environ 218:19–31

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Walter JF, Austin HM (2003) Diet composition of large striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay. Fish Bull 101:414–423

    Google Scholar 

  • Watras CJ, Bloom NS (1992) Mercury and methylmercury in individual zooplankton. Liminol Oceanog 37:1313–1318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watras CJ, Bloom NS, Hudson RJM, Gherini S, Munson R, Claas SA, Morrison KA, Hurley J, Wiener JG, Fitzgerald WF, Mason RP, Vandal G, Powell D, Rada R, Rislov L, Winfrey M, Elder J, Krabbenhoft D, Andren AW, Babiarz C, Porcella DB, Huckabee JW (1994) Sources and fates of mercury and methylmercury in Wisconsin lakes. In: Watras CJ, Huckabee JW (eds) Mercury pollution: integration and synthesis. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, Florida, pp 153–177

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiss J, Trip L, Mahaffey KR (1999) Methylmercury: a new look at the risks. Public Health Reports 114:397–401

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiener JG, Krabbenhoft DP, Heinz GH, Scheuhammer AM (2002) Ecotoxicology of mercury. In: Hoffman DJ, Rattner BA, Burton GA Jr, Cairns J Jr (eds), Handbook of ecotoxicology, 2nd ed. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, pp 409

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe MF, Schwarzbach S, Sulaiman RA (1998) The effects of mercury on wildlife: a comprehensive review. Environ Toxicol Chem 17:146

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization (1990) Environmental health criteria 101: Mercury I. Geneva, pp 144

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by grant MA01-001-002 from the MD DNR through the Power Plant Research Program. We would like to thank Paul Miller, and personnel at the MD DNR, for their help in the collection of fish samples. Samples were also collected by Maryland Department of the Environment as part of their routine monitoring survey. In addition, the help of Tom Gilmour, Fritz Riedel, and their fishing colleagues in the collection of striped bass samples in 2003 and 2004 is greatly acknowledged. The analysis of samples was performed by Auja Sveinsdottir and Debby Heyes, who also coordinated the collection and processing of samples. The help of Heather Soulen is also appreciated. We would also like to thank all members of the Mason laboratory for their help with water and fish analyses as well as with fieldwork. We thank Brenda Yates for help in manuscript preparation. This is Contribution No. XXXX of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, One Williams Street, P.O. Box 38, Solomons, Maryland, 20688, USA

    Robert P. Mason, Deborah Heyes & Auja Sveinsdottir

  2. Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, CT, 06340, USA

    Robert P. Mason

Authors
  1. Robert P. Mason
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Deborah Heyes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Auja Sveinsdottir
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert P. Mason.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Mason, R.P., Heyes, D. & Sveinsdottir, A. Methylmercury Concentrations in Fish from Tidal Waters of The Chesapeake Bay. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 51, 425–437 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0230-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-004-0230-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation