Mercury trophic transfer in a eutrophic lake: The importance of habitat-specific foraging

Ecological Applications

Volumn 18, Issue 8 SUPPL., 2008, Pages

  Eagles Smith, Collin A ^a,b   Suchanek, Thomas H ^a,b   Colwell, Arthur E ^a,c   Anderson, Norman L ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

^b U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY   (United States)

^c Lake County Vector Control District   (United States)

Author keywords

Bioaccumulation; California; Clear Lake; Diet analysis; Fish; Food webs; Foraging habitat; Mercury; Stable isotopes; Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine; Trophic transfer; USA

Indexed keywords

CHIRONOMIDAE; COTTUS ASPER; DOROSOMA PETENENSE; LEPOMIS MACROCHIRUS; MENIDIA BERYLLINA; MICROPTERUS; POMOXIS NIGROMACULATUS; TRICHOPTERA;

FRESH WATER; MERCURY;

ANIMAL; ARTICLE; CHEMISTRY; EUTROPHICATION; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FISH; FOOD CHAIN; METABOLISM; MINING; PHYSIOLOGY; UNITED STATES; WATER POLLUTANT;

ANIMALS; CALIFORNIA; EUTROPHICATION; FEEDING BEHAVIOR; FISHES; FOOD CHAIN; FRESH WATER; MERCURY; MINING; WATER POLLUTANTS, CHEMICAL;

EID: 67349103213     PISSN: 10510761     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1890/06-1476.1     Document Type: Article

References (65)

1. Ackerman, J. T., C. A. Eagles-Smith, J. Y. Takekawa, S. A. Demers, T. L. Adelsbach, J. D. Bluso, A. K. Miles, N. Warnock, T. H. Suchanek, and S. E. Schwarzbach. 2007. Mercury concentrations and space use of pre-breeding American avocets and black-necked stilts in San Francisco Bay. Science of the Total Environment 384:452-466. (Pubitemid 47287767)
2. Allen, E. W., E. E. Prepas, S. Gabos, W. M. J. Strachan, and W. Zhang. 2005. Methyl mercury concentrations in macroinvertebrates and fish from burned and undisturbed lakes on the Boreal Plain. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 62:1963-1977. (Pubitemid 41810275)
3. Amundsen, P. A., H. M. Gabler, and F. J. Staldvik. 1996. A new approach to graphical analysis of feeding strategy from stomach contents data-modification of the Costello (1990) method. Journal of Fish Biology 48:607-614.
4. Anderson, D. R., W. A. Link, D. H. Johnson, and K. P. Burnham. 2001. Suggestions for presenting the results of data analyses. Journal of Wildlife Management 65:373-378. (Pubitemid 32632431)
5. Anderson, D. W., T. H. Suchanek, C. A. Eagles-Smith, and T. M. Cahill, Jr. 2008. Mercury residues and productivity in Osprey and grebes from a mine-dominated ecosystem. Ecological Applications 18(Supplement):A227-A238.
6. Appelquist, H., I. Drabaek, and S. Asbirk. 1985. Variation in mercury content of Guillemot feathers over 150 years, Marine Pollution Bulletin 16:244-248.
7. Bodaly, R. A., and R. J. P. Fudge. 1999. Uptake of mercury by fish in an experimental boreal reservoir. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 37:103-109. (Pubitemid 29269288)
8. Bowen, S. H. 1996. Quantitative description of the diet. Pages 513-529 in B. R. Murphy and D. W. Willis, editors. Fisheries techniques. Second edition. American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
9. Bowles, K. C., S. C. Apte, W. A. Maher, M. Kawei, and R. Smith. 2001. Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury in Lake Murray, Papua New Guinea. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 58:888-897. (Pubitemid 32752620)
10. Burnham, K. P., and D. R. Anderson. 2002. Model selection and inference: A practical information-theoretic approach. Springer-Verlag, New York, New York, USA.
11. Cabana, G., and J. B. Rasmussen. 1994. Modeling food chain structure and contaminant bioaccumulation using stable nitrogen isotopes. Nature 372:255-257. (Pubitemid 24352444)
12. Cabana, G., and J. B. Rasmussen. 1996. Comparison of aquatic food chains using nitrogen isotopes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 93:10844-10847. (Pubitemid 26333077)
13. Chandra, S., M. J. Vander Zanden, A. C. Heyvaert, B. C. Richards, B. C. Allen, and C. R. Goldman. 2005. The effects of cultural eutrophication on the coupling between pelagic primary producers and benthic consumers. Limnology and Oceanography 50:1368-1376. (Pubitemid 41356419)
14. Cope, W. G., J. G. Wiener, and R. G. Rada. 1990. Mercury accumulation in yellow perch in Wisconsin seepage lakes: Relation to lake characteristics. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 9:931-940. (Pubitemid 20378079)
15. Dunne, J. A., R. A. Williams, and N. D. Martinez. 2002. Foodweb structure and network theory: The role of connectance and size. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99:12917-12922.
16. Eagles-Smith, C. A. 2006. Mercury in fish: Food web structure, trophic transfer, and bioaccumulation in two California Lakes. Dissertation. University of California, Davis, California, USA.
17. Edmondson, W. T. 1959. Fresh-water biology. Second edition. John Wiley and Sons, New York, New York, USA.
18. Evans, M. S., W. L. Lockhart, L. Doetzel, G. Low, D. Muir, K. Kidd, G. Stephens, and J. Delaronde. 2005. Elevated mercury concentrations in fish in lakes in the Mackenzie River Basin: The role of physical, chemical, and biological factors. Science of the Total Environment 351-352:479-500. (Pubitemid 41728446)
19. Evans, R. J., J. D. Bails, and F. M. D'Itri. 1972. Mercury levels in muscle tissues of preserved museum fish. Environmental Science and Technology 6:901-905.
20. Goedkoop, W., N. Akerblom, and M. H. Demandt. 2006. Trophic fractionation of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in Chironomus riparius reared on food of aquatic and terrestrial origin. Freshwater Biology 51:878-886.
21. Goedkoop, W., L. Sonesten, G. Ahlgren, and M. Boberg. 2000. Fatty acids in profundal benthic invertebrates and their major food resources in Lake Erken, Sweden: Seasonal variation and trophic indications. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57:2267-2279. (Pubitemid 32116613)
22. Goldman, C. R., and R. G. Wetzel. 1963. A study of the primary productivity of Clear Lake, Lake County, California. Ecology 44:283-294.
23. Gorski, P. R., R. C. Lathrop, S. D. Hill, and R. T. Herrin. 1999. Temporal mercury dynamics and diet composition in the mimic shiner. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 128:701-712.
24. Greenfield, B. K., T. R. Hrabik, C. J. Harvey, and S. R. Carpenter. 2001. Predicting mercury levels in yellow perch: Use of water chemistry, trophic ecology, and spatial traits. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 58:1419-1429. (Pubitemid 32770135)
25. Hakanson, L., A. Nilsson, and T. Andersson. 1988. Mercury in fish in Swedish lakes. Environmental Pollution 49:145-162. (Pubitemid 18029582)
26. Hill, W. R., A. J. Stewart, and G. E. Napolito. 1996. Mercury speciation and bioaccumulation in lotic primary producers and primary consumers. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53:812-819.
27. Horne, A. J., and C. R. Goldman. 1972. Nitrogen fixation in Clear Lake, California. I. Seasonal variation and the role of heterocysts. Limnology and Oceanography 17:678-692.
28. Jepesen, D. B., and K. O. Winemiller. 2002. Structure of tropical food webs revealed by stable isotope ratios. Oikos 96:46-55. (Pubitemid 34543886)
29. Kidd, K. A., M. J. Paterson, R. H. Hesslein, D. C. G. Muir, and R. E. Hecky. 1999. Effects of northern pike (Esox lucius) additions on pollutant accumulation and food web structure, as determined by d13C and d15N, in a eutrophic and an oligotrophic lake. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 56:2193-2202. (Pubitemid 30656163)
30. Lawler, S. P., and P. J. Morin. 1993. Food web architecture and population dynamics in laboratory microcosms of protists. American Naturalist 141:675-686.
31. Mason, R. P., J. M. Laporte, and S. Andres. 2000. Factors controlling the bioaccumulation of mercury, methylmercury, arsenic, selenium, and cadmium by freshwater invertebrates and fish. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 38:283-297. (Pubitemid 30117913)
32. Merritt, R. W., and K. W. Cummins. 1996. An introduction to the aquatic insects of North America. Third edition. Kendall/Hunt, Dubuque, Iowa, USA.
33. Moyle, P. B. 2002. Inland fishes of California. University of California Press, Berkeley California, USA.
34. Osleger, D. A., R. A. Zierenberg, T. H. Suchanek, J. S. Stoner, S. Morgan, and D. P. Adam. 2008. Clear Lake sediments: Anthropogenic changes in physical sedimentology and magnetic response. Ecological Applications 18(Supplement): A239-A256.
35. Pennak, R. W. 1989. Fresh-water invertebrates of the United States. Third edition. John Wiley and Son, New York, New York, USA.
36. Petersen, B. J., and B. Fry. 1987. Stable isotopes in ecosystem studies. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 18:293-320.
37. Pickhardt, P. C., C. L. Folt, C. Y. Chen, B. Klaue, and J. D. Blum. 2002. Algal blooms reduce the uptake of toxic methylmercury in freshwater food webs. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 99:4419-4423. (Pubitemid 34286000)
38. Polis, G. A. 1991. Complex trophic interactions in deserts: An empirical critique of food web theory. American Naturalist 147:813-846.
39. Post, D. M. 2002. Using stable isotopes to estimate trophic position: Models, methods, and assumptions. Ecology 83: 703-718. (Pubitemid 36524158)
40. Power, M., G. M. Klein, K. R. R. A. Guiguer, and M. K. H. Kwan. 2002. Mercury accumulation in the fish community of a sub-Arctic lake in relation to trophic position and carbon sources. Journal of Applied Ecology 39:819-830.
41. Richerson, P. J., T. H. Suchanek, R. A. Zierenberg, D. A. Olseger, A. C. Heyvaert, D. G. Slotton, C. A. Eagles-Smith, and C. E. Vaughn. 2008. Anthropogenic stressors and changes in the Clear Lake ecosystem as recorded in sediment cores. Ecological Applications 18(Supplement):A257-A283.
42. SAS Institute. 2002. JMP (the statistical discovery software). Version 5.0. SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina, USA.
43. Snodgrass, J. W., C. H. Jagoe, A. L. Bryan, Jr., H. A. Brant, and J. Burger. 2000. Effects of trophic status and wetland morphology, hydroperiod, and water chemistry on mercury concentrations in fish. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 57:171-180. (Pubitemid 30205708)
44. Southworth, G. R., R. R. Turner, M. J. Peterson, M. A. Bogle, and M. G. Ryon. 2000. Response of mercury contamination in fish to decreased aqueous concentrations and loading of inorganic mercury in a small stream. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 63:481-494. (Pubitemid 30490619)
45. Stewart, A. R., S. N. Luoma, C. E. Schlekat, M. A. Doblin, and K. A. Hieb. 2004. Food web pathway determines how selenium affects aquatic ecosystems: A San Francisco Bay case study. Environmental Science Technology 38:4519-4526. (Pubitemid 39180474)
46. Suchanek, T. H., C. A. Eagles-Smith, and E. J. Harner. 2008a. Is Clear Lake methylmercury distribution decoupled from bulk mercury loading? Ecological Applications 18(Supplement): A107-A127.
47. Suchanek, T. H., C. A. Eagles-Smith, D. G. Slotton, E. J. Harner, and D. P. Adam. 2008b. Mercury in abiotic matrices of Clear Lake, California: Human health and ecotoxicological implications. Ecological Applications 18(Supplement):A128-A157.
48. Suchanek, T. H., C. A. Eagles-Smith, D. G. Slotton, E. J. Harner, D. P. Adam, A. E. Colwell, N. L. Anderson, and D. L. Woodward. 2008c. Mine-derived mercury: Effects on lower trophic species in Clear Lake, California. Ecological Applications 18(Supplement):A158-A176.
49. Swanson, H. K., T. A. Johnston, D. W. Schindler, R. A. Bodaly, and D. M. Whittle. 2006. Mercury bioaccumulation in forage fish communities invaded by rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax). Environmental Science and Technology 40:1439-1446. (Pubitemid 43376381)
50. Thorp, J. H., and A. P. Covich. 1991. Ecology and classification of North American freshwater invertebrates. Academic Press, New York, New York, USA.
51. NEP [United Nations Environment Programme]. 2003. Global mercury assessment. United Nations Environment Programme, Chemicals, Geneva, Switzerland.
52. U.S. EPA [U.S. Environmental Protection Agency]. 1997. Mercury report to Congress. EPA-452/R-97-008. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., USA.
53. Vadeboncoeur, Y., E. Jeppesen, M. J. Vander Zanden, H. H. Schierup, K. Christoffersen, and D. M. Lodge. 2003. From Greenland to green lakes: Cultural eutrophication and the loss of benthic pathways in lakes. Limnology and Oceanography 48:1408-1418. (Pubitemid 36964761)
54. Vadeboncoeur, Y., M. J. Vander Zanden, and D. M. Lodge. 2002. Putting the lake back together: Reintegrating benthic pathways into lake food web models. BioScience 52:44-54. (Pubitemid 34119620)
55. Vander Zanden, M. J., and J. B. Rasmussen. 1996. A trophic position model of pelagic food webs: Impact on contaminant bioaccumulation in lake trout. Ecological Monographs 66: 451-477.
56. Vander Zanden, M. J., and J. B. Rasmussen. 1999. Primary consumer d13C and d15N and the trophic position of aquatic consumers. Ecology 80:1395-1404. (Pubitemid 29279940)
57. Vander Zanden, M. J., and Y. Vadeboncoeur. 2002. Fishes as integrators of benthic and pelagic food webs in lakes. Ecology 83:2152-2161. (Pubitemid 36524754)
58. Wang, W., and R. S. K. Wong. 2003. Bioaccumulation kinetics and exposure pathways of inorganic mercury and methylmercury in a marine fish, the sweetlips Plectorhinchus gibbosus. Marine Ecology Progress Series 261:257-268. (Pubitemid 37425127)
59. Watras, C. J., R. C. Back, S. Halvorsen, R. J. M. Hudson, K. A. Morrison, and S. P. Wente. 1998. Bioaccumulation of mercury in pelagic freshwater food webs. Science of the Total Environment 219:183-208. (Pubitemid 28548671)
60. Watras, C. J., K. A. Morrison, and N. S. Bloom. 1995. Mercury in remote Rocky Mountain lakes of Glacier National Park, Montana, in comparison with other temperate North American regions. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 52:1220-1228. (Pubitemid 26475149)
61. Welch, H. E., J. K. Jorgenson, and M. F. Curtis. 1988. Emergence of Chironomidae (Diptera) in fertilized and natural lakes at Saqvaqjuac, Northwest Territories [Canada]. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 45:731-737.
62. Wiener, J. G., and D. J. Spry. 1996. Toxicological significance of mercury in freshwater fish. Pages 297-339 in W. N. Beyer, G. H. Heinz, and A.W. Redmon-Norwood, editors. Environmental contaminants in wildlife: Interpreting tissue concentrations. Lewis, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
63. Winemiller, K. O. 1990. Spatial and temporal variation on tropical fish trophic networks. Ecological Monographs 60: 331-367. (Pubitemid 120025833)
64. Wong, A. H. K., D. J. McQueen, D. D. Williams, and E. Demers. 1997. Transfer of mercury from benthic invertebrates to fishes in lakes with contrasting fish community structures. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54:1320-1330. (Pubitemid 27428629)
65. Zar, J. H. 1999. Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, USA.