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Spatial gradients of methylmercury for breeding common loons in the Laurentian Great Lakes region

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Abstract

Much of the Laurentian Great Lakes region is a mercury-sensitive landscape, in which atmospheric deposition and waterborne sources of mercury (Hg) have led to high concentrations of bioavailable methylmercury (MeHg) in predatory fish and piscivorous wildlife. Efforts since the early 1990s have established the common loon (Gavia immer) as the primary avian indicator for evaluating the exposure and effects of MeHg in North America. A regional Hg dataset was compiled from multiple loon tissue types and yellow perch (Perca flavescens), a preferred prey fish species for loons. Hg exposure in loons and perch was modeled to develop male and female loon units (MLU and FLU, respectively), standardized metrics that represent the estimated blood Hg exposure of a male or female loon for a given loon territory or water body. Using this common endpoint approach to assess loon Hg exposure, the authors demonstrate spatial trends in biotic Hg concentrations, examine MeHg availability in aquatic ecosystems of the Great Lakes region in relation to landscape-level characteristics, and identify areas with potentially significant adverse reproductive impacts to loons and other avian piscivores. Based on 8,101 MLUs, seven biological Hg hotspots were identified in the Great Lakes region. Policy-relevant applications are presented.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Wildlife Conservation Society, Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, and Audubon International, as well as NYSERDA and NYS DEC. The authors also thank ESRI for their software donation, which facilitated the compilation and analysis of data at the Biodiversity Research Institute. Sources for perch data include the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Ontario Ministry of the Environment, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

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  1. Biodiversity Research Institute, 19 Flaggy Meadow Road, Gorham, ME, 04038, USA

    David C. Evers, Kathryn A. Williams, Nina Schoch & Andrew T. Gilbert

  2. Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, 107 Sutliff Avenue, Rhinelander, WI, 54501, USA

    Michael W. Meyer

  3. National Wildlife Research Centre, Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada

    Anton M. Scheuhammer

  4. Climate Interactive, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA

    Lori Siegel

  5. Trace Element Research Laboratory, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Robert J. Taylor

  6. University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Robert Poppenga

  7. University of Connecticut Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Storrs, CT, 06269, USA

    Christopher R. Perkins

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Correspondence to David C. Evers.

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Evers, D.C., Williams, K.A., Meyer, M.W. et al. Spatial gradients of methylmercury for breeding common loons in the Laurentian Great Lakes region. Ecotoxicology 20, 1609–1625 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0753-7

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