Tuna for Lunch?

A Case Study Examining Mercury

Bioaccumulation and
Biomagnification
By
Caralyn B. Zehnder
Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences
Georgia College and State University, Milledgeville, GA

Coal-burning power plants are the most common

source of mercury pollution.
Coal contains mercury naturally, and when it is
burned, the mercury travels up the smokestack and
is released into the air.

Mercury Methylation
Bacteria convert inorganic mercury (Hg) to the organic form
methylmercury (MeHg)
Hg in emissions (smoke)

Hg - Deposited on
land and into
water

50-75% from
anthropogenic
(human) sources

Bacteria

Methyl-mercury
(MeHg)

Methylmercury (MeHg)
Highly toxic
Gets into the food web
Snail
Largemouth bass
Herbivorous
fish

Phytoplankton (algae)

Zooplankton

Small fish

Hg in emissions (smoke)

Hg - Deposited on
land and into
water

50-75% from
anthropogenic
(human) sources

Bacteria

MeHg

Methyl-mercury
(MeHg)

Zooplankton

Large fish

MeHg

MeHg
Small fish
MeHg

Phytoplankton (algae)

Report Objectives:
Describe the nationwide
occurrence and distribution of
mercury in fish tissue.
Evaluate mercury in streambed
(bed) sediment and stream
water.

Scudder, B.C., Chasar, L.C., Wentz, D.A., Bauch, N.J., Brigham, M.E.,
Moran, P.W., and Krabbenhoft, D.P., 2009, Mercury in fish, bed sediment,
and water from streams across the United States, 19982005: U.S.
Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 20095109, 74 p.

Methods
Fish

Sediment

A plastic scoop was used to

remove the upper 2 to 4
cm of bed sediment from 5
to 10 depositional areas;
Largemouth bass were
samples were composited
targeted for collection;
into a single sample for
but 34 different fish
each site.
species were collected.
291 fish from streams
nationwide.

Fish caught by
electrofishing, rod &
reel, and gill nets.
Fish fillet analyzed for
mercury

Each sample was

homogenized and mercury
levels were measured.

Water
Stream-water samples
were collected by
dipping Teflon or
PETG (Nalgene) bottles
in the centrer of
streamflow by use of
trace-metal clean
techniques.
Samples analyzed for
mercury.

Figure 1: Mercury concentrations (ug/g) found in fish tissues of

commonly sampled fish species.

US EPA criterion for

human health.
Concern level for
piscivorous mammals

Each and every fish tested from nearly 300 water

streams in the U.S. was found to contain mercury.

Hg concentrations in fish were several orders

of magnitude higher than in stream water.
Bioaccumulation: the buildup of substances,
such as pesticides or heavy metals, in an
organism.
Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism absorbs a
substance faster than it excretes it.
Bioaccumulation results in the organism having a
higher concentration than the surrounding
environment.
Mercury out

Mercury in

Where in the U.S. were

the highest
concentrations of
mercury in fish found?
http://www.usgs.gov/corecast/details.asp?ep=102

EPA Fish Advisories

http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/states.htm

The relationship between trophic position and mercury in

the food web of Lake Washington.

Lake Washington

Methods collect fish, crustaceans, & zooplankton and measure

methylmercury levels.

Mysid
Daphnia
(zooplankton)

Crayfish
Stickleback
Trout
Pikeminnow

Caddisfly

Sockeye salmon (fry)

Smallmouth bass

Table 3

*Arthropods are organisms with segmented bodies, hard exoskeletons and

multiple pairs of jointed legs. Aquatic examples include shrimp, crayfish,
crabs, and insect larvae including caddisflies.

Trout

Pikeminnow
Smallmouth bass

Stickleback
Mysid

Sockeye salmon (fry)

Crayfish
Daphnia
(zooplankton)

Caddisfly

Algae (phytoplankton)

Trout

Hg

Pikeminnow
Smallmouth bass

Stickleback

Hg

Mysid

Hg

Sockeye salmon (fry)

Crayfish

Daphnia
(zooplankton)

Caddisfly

Algae (phytoplankton)

Biomagnification: An increase in
concentration of a pollutant from one
link in a food chain to another.
If a substance can biomagnify, then
animals (predators) at the top of the
food chain will have higher
concentrations than animals lower on
the food chain.
Even small concentrations of chemicals
in the environment can find their way
into organisms in high enough dosages
to cause problems.

Image credits
Licensed photo of school of tuna: Tommy Schultz | Fotolia.com, #4843675.
Coal fired power plant: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dominion_Power_Plant.jpg
Bacteria: : www.nature.com/.../v2/n2/full/ngeo428.html
Water sampling: http://www.usgs.gov/themes/factsheet/146-00/
Largemouth bass: www.dfw.state.or.us/.../largemouth_bass.asp
Herbivorous fish: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutilus
Fish electroshocking: www.epa.gov/esd/land-sci/water/fig9.htm
Lake Washington: .: www.fs.fed.us/r6/mbs/photo_gallery/index.php?...
Sockeye salmon fry: http://cybersalmon.fws.gov/sockeye.htm
Daphnia magma: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Daphnia_magna.png
Signal crayfish: www.tdsfb.org/crayfish.htm
Mysid shrimp: reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-02/rs/index.php
Stickleback: pond.dnr.cornell.edu/.../stickleback.html
Cutthroat trout: www.usbr.gov/mp/lbao/native_american.html
Northern pikeminnow: fishandgame.idaho.gov/ifwis/fishingplanner/ht...
Smallmouth bass: pond.dnr.cornell.edu/.../smallmouth_bass.html
Caddisfly larvae: www.slnnr.org.uk/sitedescription/freshwater.html
Mercury biomagnification: pubs.water.usgs.gov/fs-216-95
Vermont mercury fish advisory: www.neiwpcc.org/mercury/advisories_materials.asp