Mercury in sediment and fish from North Mississippi Lakes (original) (raw)
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The goal of this study was to compare total mercury (Hg) concentrations in fish muscle tissue and assess consumption health risks of fish collected from three north Mississippi lakes (Sardis, Enid, and Grenada) that are extensively used for fishing and recreation. Largemouth bass (LMB; n = 64), channel catfish (CC; n = 72), and white crappie (WC; n = 100), which represent a range of trophic levels, were collected during spring 2013 and 2014. Creel data estimated that anglers harvested approximately 370,000 kg of WC, 27,000 kg of CC, and 15,000 kg of LMB from the lakes annually. Median Hg wet weight concentrations were highest in LMB (443 ng/g), followed by CC (211 ng/g) and WC (192 ng/g). Fish-Hg concentrations were lower than those reported in fish >10 years ago. There were significant differences between lakes consistent across species. Grenada lengthnormalized fish-Hg concentrations were higher than those from Enid and Sardis. Because existing consumption advisories for CC are length based, the lack of relationship between length and Hg concentration indicated that the recommendations may not be sufficiently protective. Further, five different risk assessment paradigms yielded hazard quotient (HQ) values suggesting that existing fish consumption advisories may be insufficient to protect adults and especially children from exposure to Hg.
Total Mercury Concentrations in Lakes and Fish of Western Maryland, USA
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2002
The purpose of this study was to quantify total mercury concentrations in three species of fish in three lakes of western Maryland: Piney Creek reservoir, Deep Creek Lake, and Lake Habeeb. We measured total mercury concentrations in water from each lake and muscle tissue from 119 fish collected in fall 2000: 15 largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), 15 yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and 15 bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) from the Piney Creek reservoir; 15 largemouth bass, 15 yellow perch, and 14 bluegill from Deep Creek Lake; and 15 largemouth bass and 15 bluegill from Lake Habeeb. Average total mercury concentrations (Ϯ SD) in surface waters were 0.96 Ϯ 0.03 ng L Ϫ1 for the Piney Creek reservoir, 0.56 Ϯ 0.07 ng L Ϫ1 for Deep Creek Lake, and 0.40 Ϯ 0.05 ng L Ϫ1 for Lake Habeeb. These water quality differences were sometimes reflected in the total mercury concentration in fish muscle tissue. Total mercury concentrations in bluegill (0.05 Ϯ 0.02 g g Ϫ1) and largemouth bass (0.10 Ϯ 0.03 g g Ϫ1) from Lake Habeeb were significantly (p Ͻ 0.001) lower than the total mercury concentrations in bluegill and largemouth bass from the Piney Creek reservoir (bluegill: 0.13 Ϯ 0.04 g g Ϫ1 and largemouth bass: 0.37 Ϯ 0.18 g g Ϫ1) and Deep Creek Lake (bluegill: 0.11 Ϯ 0.04 g g Ϫ1 and largemouth bass: 0.30 Ϯ 0.09 g g Ϫ1). Yellow perch from the Piney Creek reservoir had significantly higher total mercury concentrations than yellow perch from Deep Creek Lake (0.20 Ϯ 0.08 g g Ϫ1 versus 0.13 Ϯ 0.04 g g Ϫ1). In contrast, total mercury concentrations in largemouth bass from the Piney Creek reservoir and Deep Creek Lake were not significantly different. With the exception of largemouth bass from Lake Habeeb and yellow perch from Deep Creek Lake, there were relatively strong (r 2 Ͼ 0.39-0.79) log-log relationships between the size (weight and length) of the fish and total mercury concentrations in muscle tissue. The largest largemouth bass (Ͼ 800 g and Ͼ 38 cm) from both Deep Creek Lake and the Piney Creek reservoir had total mercury concentrations that exceeded the consumption advisory of 0.5 g g Ϫ1 that is used by many states and Canada. In contrast, total mercury concentrations in largemouth bass from Lake Habeeb did not exceed this consumption advisory. Our results suggest that fish consumption advisories are needed for largemouth bass in the Piney Creek reservoir and Deep Creek Lake.
We examined how length of fish is related to mercury concentrations in muscle tissue of seven species of fish from Lake Meredith, Texas and determined how sex and growth rate are related to mercury concentration in walleye (Sander vitreus). Flathead catfish (Pylodictis olivaris), walleye and white bass (Morone chrysops) had the highest concentrations of mercury and channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), river carpsucker (Carpiodes carpio) and gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum) had the lowest concentrations of mercury. Mercury concentrations were positively correlated with total length (TL) of fish for all species except gizzard shad, which exhibited a negative correlation between mercury concentration and TL. Male walleye grew more slowly than females, and males had higher concentrations of mercury than females. We also assessed the differences in fish consumption advisories that would be issued using Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) guidelines versus United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recommendations. Using DSHS guidelines, no fish species in Lake Meredith would be issued a fish consumption advisory. Nevertheless, DSHS has issued an advisory for walleye in Lake Meredith, possibly due to an inadequate sample size of fish. Using USEPA guidelines, a fish consumption advisory would be issued for the largest size class of flathead catfish but no advisory exists for flathead catfish in Lake Meredith. We suggest that when fish in a lake may be contaminated with mercury, all game fish in the lake should be assessed, and mercury advisories should take fish size into account.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2002
Total mercury (Hg) concentrations were determined in the skeletal muscle of 339 fish collected during the fall of 1998 and spring of 1999 from Lake Mead, USA, the nation's largest human-made reservoir. Five species of fish representing a range of trophic levels and the lake's principal game fishes were studied. Hg generally increased with trophic level and fish size. Median Hg concentrations (ng/g wet mass) were 277 in striped bass, 168 in channel catfish, 160 in largemouth bass, 75 in bluegill, and 8 in blue tilapia. Overall, fish from Las Vegas Bay and Boulder Basin had the lowest Hg concentrations, possibly a result of biodilution in this biologically productive area. In general, fish-mercury advisories might include a warning about consuming fillet from emaciated fish, based on the finding that Hg concentrations in 59 striped bass (captured during a scarce-food season) correlated inversely (r ϭ Ϫ0.89, p Ͻ 0.001) with a fish nutritional-status factor. This is consistent with starvation-concentration, whereby Hg in fish muscle is lost at a slower rate than the muscle mass. The median concentration found for 139 striped bass corresponds to a recommended risk-based consumption limit of three 8-oz. (227-g) meals per month for a 70-kg adult. Finally, this paper serves as a useful archive for future research and long-term studies of Hg in Lake Mead fish.
Factors Affecting Mercury Accumulation in Fish in the Upper Michigan Peninsula
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, 1990
Fish were sampled from 35 drainage and seepage lakes in the upper Michigan peninsula and Wisconsin in conjunction with Phase I1 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Eastern Lake Survey to explore the relationship between physicochemical characteristics of lakes and mercury concentrations in fish tissue. The lakes were selected using a stratified random design weighted for low pH to assess acidification effects on mercury bioaccumulation. Muscle tissue from yellow perch (Perca flavescens), northern pike (Esox lucius), white sucker (Catostomus commersoni) and largemouth bass (Micropterus salmordes) was analyzed for total and methylmercury. Differences in mercury concentrations were found between species, and methylmercury accounted for 99% of total mercury. Relationships were examined between tissue concentrations of mercury in yellow perch and lake physicochemical variables including pH, acid neutralizing capacity (ANC), calcium, conductivity, aluminum, total phosphorus, dissolved organic carbon, color, sulfate, lake area, lake depth, watershed area, Secchi depth and elevation. Mercury concentrations were negatively correlated with pH and ANC for both seepage and drainage lakes, but correlations with other water-quality characteristics varied with lake type. Dissolved organic carbon had a negative correlation with fish mercury accumulation in seepage lakes, but not in drainage lakes. Mercury concentrations had a positive correlation with age, weight and length in yellow perch.
Mercury trends in fish from rivers and lakes in the United States, 1969–2005
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2010
A national dataset on concentrations of mercury in fish, compiled mainly from state and federal monitoring programs, was used to evaluate trends in mercury (Hg) in fish from US rivers and lakes. Trends were analyzed on data aggregated by site and by state, using samples of the same fish species and tissue type, and using fish Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (
Mercury in Fishes and Their Diet Items from Flathead Lake, Montana
Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 2004
Mercury levels in lake trout Salvelinus namaycush, lake whitefish Coregonus clupeaformis, and benthic invertebrates were investigated in Flathead Lake, Montana. For both fish species, mercury increased with size and age and showed a negative relationship with growth rate. No gender-based differences in mercury levels were observed for either lake trout or lake whitefish. A positive relationship between mercury concentration and depth was documented for lake trout and the pooled invertebrate sample, suggesting that individual lake trout have some long-term habitat preferences. In general, these findings underscore the need to consider biological attributes of organisms when conducting contaminant assessments and illustrate the usefulness of contaminants as food web tracers.
Trends in Mercury Concentrations in New York State Fish
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 2009
Atmospheric emissions of mercury in the US are being reduced, but worldwide mercury emissions remain high. Mercury is also being removed from many consumer items. Changes over time in mercury concentrations in fish remain important to resource managers and the general public. There is hope that mercury concentrations in fish will decline, and the number of fish consumption advisories due to mercury will decrease. We compared mercury concentrations in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from a group of Adirondack lakes with data collected 12-17 years earlier and found variable responses among lakes. We observed an average decline of 14% in yellow perch mercury concentrations over the past 15 years.