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Assessment of mercury bioaccumulation within the pelagic food web of lakes in the western Great Lakes region

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Abstract

While mercury is a health hazard to humans and wildlife, the biogeochemical processes responsible for its bioaccumulation in pelagic food webs are still being examined. Previous studies have indicated both “bottom-up” control of piscivorous fish Hg content through methylmercury.(MeHg) supply, as well as site-specific trophic factors. We evaluated ten studies from the western Great Lakes region to examine the similarity of MeHg trophic transfer efficiency within the pelagic food web, and assessed regional-scale spatial variability. Analyses of bioaccumulation and biomagnification factors between water, seston, zooplankton, and preyfish indicated that the largest increases in MeHg occurred at the base of the food web, and that the relative extent of trophic transfer was similar between sites. Positive correlations were observed between aqueous unfiltered MeHg, total Hg, and dissolved organic carbon, and measures of the efficiency of MeHg trophic transfer were consistent across widely disparate systems (both natural and experimentally manipulated) throughout North America. Such similarity suggests that the aqueous supply of MeHg is largely controlling bioaccumulation in pelagic food webs, while local, lake-specific variability can result from an array of trophic (biological) factors.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the grant, “Integrating Multimedia Measurements of Mercury in the Great Lakes Region” from the Great Lakes Atmospheric Deposition (GLAD) Program administered by the Great Lakes Commission. Projects at the Apostles Islands National Lakeshore and Voyageurs National Park were funded by the US Geological Survey, US National Park Service, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Funding for work conducted at Chequamegon Bay, WI was obtained from the Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute (Madison, WI). The ELA studies were funded by Manitoba Hydro, Hydro-Quebec and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. We would like to thank David Evers and Kate Williams of the BioDiversity Research Institute (Gorham, ME), James Wiener and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (La Crosse, WI), Drew Bodaly of the Penobscot River Mercury Study for initial review and guest editorial administration, Brent Knights (USGS, La Crosse, WI) for inclusion of the VOYA data, Richard Back (State University of New York-Oswego) for inclusion of NOWI data, and Sherwin Toribio (University of Wisconsin-La Crosse) for assistance with statistical analyses.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and River Studies Center, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, WI, 54601, USA

    Kristofer R. Rolfhus

  2. Department of Biology, University of Regina, Regina, SK, S4S 0A2, Canada

    Britt D. Hall

  3. Environmental Analysis & Outcomes Division, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, St. Paul, MN, 55155, USA

    Bruce A. Monson

  4. Freshwater Institute, Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 2N6, Canada

    Michael J. Paterson

  5. Department of Chemistry and Environmental Studies, Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN, 56082, USA

    Jeffrey D. Jeremiason

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  1. Kristofer R. Rolfhus
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  2. Britt D. Hall
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  3. Bruce A. Monson
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  4. Michael J. Paterson
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  5. Jeffrey D. Jeremiason
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Correspondence to Kristofer R. Rolfhus.

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Rolfhus, K.R., Hall, B.D., Monson, B.A. et al. Assessment of mercury bioaccumulation within the pelagic food web of lakes in the western Great Lakes region. Ecotoxicology 20, 1520–1529 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0733-y

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