TY - JOUR
T1 - Mercury in small Illinois fishes
T2 - Historical perspectives and current issues
AU - Levengood, Jeffrey M.
AU - Soucek, David J.
AU - Taylor, Christopher A.
AU - Gay, David A.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments Funding was provided by the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Mercury analyses were conducted by the ISTC. Diane Greer, INHS, created Fig. 1.
Copyright:
Copyright 2013 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2013/8
Y1 - 2013/8
N2 - Documenting long-term trends in mercury deposition and/or accumulation is important in setting regulatory benchmarks, modeling contaminant transfer and flux, measuring success of environmental controls, and even assigning responsibility for pollution. We conducted a study to compare mercury concentrations in small fishes from "high-mercury" and "low-mercury" regions of Illinois, as well as to examine historic patterns of mercury availability using preserved fishes. Mercury concentrations were greater in four species of small fishes collected from a stream in a "high-mercury" region than in those same taxa collected from a stream in a "low-mercury" area in Illinois. Mercury concentrations in blackstripe topminnows (Fundulus notatus) declined dramatically between 1900 and 1961/2006 in the "high-mercury" stream, presumably due reductions in mercury releases from local and regional sources. Preserved fish had an apparent increase in mercury concentrations for up to 12 months, which is consistent with changes in mass and loss of proteins observed in other studies, and we recommend that recent samples be preserved for at least 12 months before comparison with older fluid-preserved material. Based on our results, further studies of mercury in small fishes in Illinois streams appear warranted.
AB - Documenting long-term trends in mercury deposition and/or accumulation is important in setting regulatory benchmarks, modeling contaminant transfer and flux, measuring success of environmental controls, and even assigning responsibility for pollution. We conducted a study to compare mercury concentrations in small fishes from "high-mercury" and "low-mercury" regions of Illinois, as well as to examine historic patterns of mercury availability using preserved fishes. Mercury concentrations were greater in four species of small fishes collected from a stream in a "high-mercury" region than in those same taxa collected from a stream in a "low-mercury" area in Illinois. Mercury concentrations in blackstripe topminnows (Fundulus notatus) declined dramatically between 1900 and 1961/2006 in the "high-mercury" stream, presumably due reductions in mercury releases from local and regional sources. Preserved fish had an apparent increase in mercury concentrations for up to 12 months, which is consistent with changes in mass and loss of proteins observed in other studies, and we recommend that recent samples be preserved for at least 12 months before comparison with older fluid-preserved material. Based on our results, further studies of mercury in small fishes in Illinois streams appear warranted.
KW - Coal
KW - Fish
KW - Fluid preservation
KW - Historical trends
KW - Mercury
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U2 - 10.1007/s10661-012-3040-z
DO - 10.1007/s10661-012-3040-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 23299441
AN - SCOPUS:84879841701
SN - 0167-6369
VL - 185
SP - 6485
EP - 6494
JO - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
JF - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
IS - 8
ER -