This is a broad theme representing the largest component of the Contaminant Ecology Research Program, acting as a bridge between the “Habitat and Land Use Influences” and “Ecological Effects” themes. “Contaminant Bioaccumulation” focuses on quantifying the transfer or movement of contaminants through food webs, and identifying the primary landscape factors and ecological mechanisms that are responsible for the variation in transfer rates among habitats and ecosystems. This theme largely follows the classic community ecology approach of quantifying energy flow through ecosystems, investigating interspecies interactions, and evaluating the demographic responses of species to various disturbances. As opposed to simply measuring contaminant trends in top predators, this ecological foundation provides a powerful framework in which to investigate the movement of contaminants through ecosystems that is explicitly based on how the ecosystems function. As such, results contribute to the body of knowledge regarding how ecological interactions contribute to contaminant cycling.
Active Projects
- Western North America Mercury Synthesis: A Landscape-scale Analysis of Mercury Cycling, Bioaccumulation, and Risk Linking Long-term Datasets
- Mercury Bioaccumulation in Fish from High-Elevation Lakes in National Parks across the Western United States
- Off-channel Habitats in the Willamette River: Implications for Methylmercury Cycling, Bioaccumulation, and Risk
- Effects of Non-native Fishes on Mercury Bioaccumulation and Risk to Pond-breeding Salamanders in Olympic National Park
- Mercury Bioaccumulation in Terrestrial Songbirds and the Influence of Aquatic Energy Subsidies
- Mercury Cycling and Ecological Risk across Habitats in Mount Rainier National Park
- The Effects of Wetland Restoration on Mercury Bioaccumulation in the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project: Using the Biosentinel Toolbox to Monitor Changes across Multiple Habitats and Spatial Scales
- Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation across the Aleutian Archipelago: Landscape Patterns of Wildlife Risk within the North Pacific Ocean
- Mercury Contamination in Waterbird Eggs and Risk to Avian Reproduction at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and Great Salt Lake
- Incorporating Wildlife Mercury Exposure and Risk Estimates Using Biomagnification Factors into BOG California Lake Monitoring
- Mercury Bioaccumulation in Waterbodies of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
- Mercury Exposure and Risk to Purple Martins Breeding in the Willamette Valley, Oregon
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Contaminant Ecology Research Team (FRESC)
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Mercury Bioaccumulation in US National Parks Using Dragonfly Larvae as Biosentinels, 2009-2018
Trask River Watershed Study Area Forestry Bioaccumulation Dataset, 2011-2015
Pacific Northwest Avian Scavenger Lead and Mercury Dataset, 2012-2016
Data for Biogeochemical and Physical Processes Controlling Mercury and Selenium Bioaccumulation in Bighorn Lake, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana and Wyoming, 2015-2016
Below are publications associated with this project.
A national-scale assessment of mercury bioaccumulation in United States National Parks using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels through a citizen-science framework
Mercury bioaccumulation in freshwater fishes of the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Mercury bioaccumulation in estuarine fishes: Novel insights from sulfur stable isotopes
It’s what’s inside that counts: Egg contaminant concentrations are influenced by estimates of egg density, egg volume, and fresh egg mass
Maternal transfer of contaminants in birds: Mercury and selenium concentrations in parents and their eggs
From tails to toes: developing nonlethal tissue indicators of mercury exposure in five amphibian species
Estimating mercury exposure of piscivorous birds and sport fish using prey fish monitoring
Estimating exposure of piscivorous birds and sport fish to mercury in California lakes using prey fish monitoring: a predictive tool for managers
Mercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction
Invasive crayfish as vectors of mercury in freshwater food webs of the Pacific Northwest
Mercury concentrations in breast feathers of three upper trophic level marine predators from the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Bird mercury concentrations change rapidly as chicks age: Toxicological risk is highest at hatching and fledging
- Overview
This is a broad theme representing the largest component of the Contaminant Ecology Research Program, acting as a bridge between the “Habitat and Land Use Influences” and “Ecological Effects” themes. “Contaminant Bioaccumulation” focuses on quantifying the transfer or movement of contaminants through food webs, and identifying the primary landscape factors and ecological mechanisms that are responsible for the variation in transfer rates among habitats and ecosystems. This theme largely follows the classic community ecology approach of quantifying energy flow through ecosystems, investigating interspecies interactions, and evaluating the demographic responses of species to various disturbances. As opposed to simply measuring contaminant trends in top predators, this ecological foundation provides a powerful framework in which to investigate the movement of contaminants through ecosystems that is explicitly based on how the ecosystems function. As such, results contribute to the body of knowledge regarding how ecological interactions contribute to contaminant cycling.
Active Projects
- Western North America Mercury Synthesis: A Landscape-scale Analysis of Mercury Cycling, Bioaccumulation, and Risk Linking Long-term Datasets
- Mercury Bioaccumulation in Fish from High-Elevation Lakes in National Parks across the Western United States
- Off-channel Habitats in the Willamette River: Implications for Methylmercury Cycling, Bioaccumulation, and Risk
- Effects of Non-native Fishes on Mercury Bioaccumulation and Risk to Pond-breeding Salamanders in Olympic National Park
- Mercury Bioaccumulation in Terrestrial Songbirds and the Influence of Aquatic Energy Subsidies
- Mercury Cycling and Ecological Risk across Habitats in Mount Rainier National Park
- The Effects of Wetland Restoration on Mercury Bioaccumulation in the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project: Using the Biosentinel Toolbox to Monitor Changes across Multiple Habitats and Spatial Scales
- Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation across the Aleutian Archipelago: Landscape Patterns of Wildlife Risk within the North Pacific Ocean
- Mercury Contamination in Waterbird Eggs and Risk to Avian Reproduction at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and Great Salt Lake
- Incorporating Wildlife Mercury Exposure and Risk Estimates Using Biomagnification Factors into BOG California Lake Monitoring
- Mercury Bioaccumulation in Waterbodies of the Wallowa-Whitman National Forest
- Mercury Exposure and Risk to Purple Martins Breeding in the Willamette Valley, Oregon
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Contaminant Ecology Research Team (FRESC)
The FRESC Contaminant Ecology research program evaluates the distribution, movement, and ecological effects of environmental contaminants across the landscape and strives to provide relevant science in support of natural resource conservation, management, and decision making. - Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Mercury Bioaccumulation in US National Parks Using Dragonfly Larvae as Biosentinels, 2009-2018
Comma-separated values (.csv) files containing data related to a National-scale assessment of mercury bioaccumulation in the US National Parks using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels through a citizen science framework.Trask River Watershed Study Area Forestry Bioaccumulation Dataset, 2011-2015
This dataset includes timber harvest treatments; mercury concentrations in aquatic macroinvertebrates, salamanders, and riparian songbirds; carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in aquatic macroinvertebrates and salamanders; and Bayesian estimates of food web length, basal resource diversity, and isotopic niche size for individual feeding guilds.Pacific Northwest Avian Scavenger Lead and Mercury Dataset, 2012-2016
The dataset includes the bird species, region where sampled, sampling site, capture location, mercury concentration in whole blood, lead concentration in whole blood, sulfur stable isotope concentration in blood plasma, carbon isotope concentration in blood plasma, whole blood ALAD activity, and fecal corticosterone concentrations.Data for Biogeochemical and Physical Processes Controlling Mercury and Selenium Bioaccumulation in Bighorn Lake, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Montana and Wyoming, 2015-2016
This dataset includes the field measurements and laboratory analyses of surface water, seston, fish tissue, and sediment samples collected from Bighorn Lake, within Bighorn Canyon National Recreation area (BICA), during high flow (July 2015) and low flow (August 2016) conditions. The study area includes 7-9 sampling sites that follow a transect spanning the entire length of the reservoir from the - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 22A national-scale assessment of mercury bioaccumulation in United States National Parks using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels through a citizen-science framework
We conducted a national-scale assessment of mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems using dragonfly larvae as biosentinels, by developing a citizen science network to facilitate biological sampling. Implementing a carefully designed sampling methodology for citizen scientists, we developed an effective framework for landscape-level inquiry that might otherwise be resource limited. We asMercury bioaccumulation in freshwater fishes of the Chesapeake Bay watershed
Chemical contaminants are a threat to the Chesapeake Bay watershed, with mercury (Hg) among the most prevalent causes of impairment. Despite this, large-scale patterns of Hg concentrations, and the potential risks to fish, wildlife, and humans across the watershed, are poorly understood. We compiled fish Hg data from state monitoring programs and recent research efforts to address this knowledge gMercury bioaccumulation in estuarine fishes: Novel insights from sulfur stable isotopes
Estuaries are transitional habitats characterized by complex biogeochemical and ecological gradients that result in substantial variation in fish total mercury concentrations (THg). We leveraged these gradients and used carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), and sulfur (δ34S) stable isotopes to examine the ecological and biogeochemical processes underlying THg bioaccumulation in fishes from the San FrancIt’s what’s inside that counts: Egg contaminant concentrations are influenced by estimates of egg density, egg volume, and fresh egg mass
In egg contaminant studies, it is necessary to calculate egg contaminant concentrations on a fresh wet weight basis and this requires accurate estimates of egg density and egg volume. We show that the inclusion or exclusion of the eggshell can influence egg contaminant concentrations, and we provide estimates of egg density (both with and without the eggshell) and egg-shape coefficients (used to eMaternal transfer of contaminants in birds: Mercury and selenium concentrations in parents and their eggs
We conducted a detailed assessment of the maternal transfer of mercury and selenium to eggs in three bird species (n = 107 parents and n = 339 eggs), and developed predictive equations linking contaminant concentrations in eggs to those in six tissues of the mother (blood, muscle, liver, kidney, breast feathers, and head feathers). Mercury concentrations in eggs were positively correlated with merFrom tails to toes: developing nonlethal tissue indicators of mercury exposure in five amphibian species
Exposure to environmental contaminants has been implicated as a factor in global amphibian decline. Mercury (Hg) is a particularly widespread contaminant that biomagnifies in amphibians and can cause a suite of deleterious effects. However, monitoring contaminant exposure in amphibian tissues may conflict with conservation goals if lethal take is required. Thus, there is a need to develop non-lethEstimating mercury exposure of piscivorous birds and sport fish using prey fish monitoring
Methylmercury is a global pollutant of aquatic ecosystems, and monitoring programs need tools to predict mercury exposure of wildlife. We developed equations to estimate methylmercury exposure of piscivorous birds and sport fish using mercury concentrations in prey fish. We collected original data on western grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark’s grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii) and summarizeEstimating exposure of piscivorous birds and sport fish to mercury in California lakes using prey fish monitoring: a predictive tool for managers
Numerous water bodies in California are listed under the Clean Water Act as being impaired due to mercury (Hg) contamination. The Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP), via the Bioaccumulation Oversight Group (BOG), has recently completed statewide surveys of contaminants in sport fish tissue from more than 250 lakes and rivers in California and throughout coastal waters. This effort foMercury in birds of San Francisco Bay-Delta, California: trophic pathways, bioaccumulation, and ecotoxicological risk to avian reproduction
San Francisco Bay Estuary in northern California has a legacy of mercury contamination, which could reduce the health and reproductive success of waterbirds in the estuary. The goal of this study was to use an integrated field and laboratory approach to evaluate the risks of mercury exposure to birds in the estuary. We examined mercury bioaccumulation, and other contaminants of concern, in five waInvasive crayfish as vectors of mercury in freshwater food webs of the Pacific Northwest
Invasive species are important drivers of environmental change in aquatic ecosystems and can alter habitat characteristics, community composition, and ecosystem energetics. Such changes have important implications for many ecosystem processes, including the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of contaminants through food webs. Mercury concentrations were measured in 2 nonnative and 1 native crayfMercury concentrations in breast feathers of three upper trophic level marine predators from the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska
Mercury (Hg) is a toxic element distributed globally through atmospheric transport. Agattu Island, located in the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, has no history of point-sources of Hg contamination. We provide baseline levels of total mercury (THg) concentrations in breast feathers of three birds that breed on the island. Geometric mean THg concentrations in feathers of fork-tailed storm-petrelsBird mercury concentrations change rapidly as chicks age: Toxicological risk is highest at hatching and fledging
Toxicological risk of methylmercury exposure to juvenile birds is complex due to the highly transient nature of mercury concentrations as chicks age. We examined total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in blood, liver, kidney, muscle, and feathers of 111 Forster's tern (Sterna forsteri), 69 black-necked stilt (Himantopus mexicanus), and 43 American avocet (Recurvirostra americana) chicks as