Biomagnification of Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

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Biomagnification of Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake x 10 4 H2O

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Biomagnification of Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake. Are there differences in MMHg uptake for different species of phytoplankton? Which characteristics might be related to increased uptake?. Size Fractioning. Flow Cytometry. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of Biomagnification of Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Page 1: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Biomagnification of Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

• x 104H2O

Page 2: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Are there differences in MMHg uptake for different species of phytoplankton? Which characteristics might be related to increased uptake?

Page 3: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Size FractioningTarget Group Filter pore size

Phytoplankton and particulates 0.4−20 μm

Herbivorous zooplankton >20 μm

Target Group Signal

Live Autotrophs DNA & chlorophyll

Live Heterotrophs DNA

Detritus None

Flow Cytometry

Page 4: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Within each site: Does the concentration of MMHg increase with increasing trophic level?

Clams Amphipods Blood worms Snails

Page 5: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Comparing the 5 sites: Is there a correlation between the density of phytoplankton and the concentration of mercury in the biota?

• Phytoplankton density based on fluorescence of chlorophyll (mg of chlorophyll L-1)

Page 6: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

High Plankton Densities Reduce Mercury BiomagnificationChen & Folt, 2005

Page 7: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

CL01 CL04 CL06 CL09 CL140

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

Total Mercury in Plankton based on Volume filtered 6/23/10

Phytoplankton 6/23/10

Zooplankton 6/23/10

Conc

entr

ation

HgT

(ng/

L)

CL01 CL04 CL06 CL09 CL140

0.5

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Total Mercury in Plankton based onVolume Filtered 7/27/10

Phytoplankton 7/27/10

Zooplankton 7/27/10

Conc

entr

ation

HgT

(ng/

L)

Page 8: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

CL01 CL04 CL06 CL09 CL140

0.5

1

1.5

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2.5

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3.5

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Total Mercury in Plankton based onVolume Filtered 7/27/10

Phytoplankton 6/23/10Zooplankton 6/23/10Phytoplankton 7/27/10Zooplankton 7/27/10Co

ncen

trati

on H

gT (n

g/L)

CL01 CL04 CL06 CL09 CL140

5

10

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Chlorophyll Concentration in Un-filtered Water

6/23/20107/27/2010

Chlo

roph

yll fl

uore

scen

ce

Question: Is there a correlation between the density of phytoplankton and the concentration of MMHg in the biota?

Page 9: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

CL01 CL04 CL06 CL06 DUP

CL06 TRIP

CL09 CL140

1

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Total Mercury 6/23/10

UnfilteredFiltered

HgT

Conc

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ation

(ng/

mL)

CL01 CL04 CL06 CL09 CL140

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Total Hg in Water, Carnegie Lake 7/27/10

FilteredUnfiltered

Conc

entr

ation

HgT

(ng/

L)

CL01 CL04 CL06 CL09 CL140

0.5

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Total Hg in Unfiltered WaterCarnegie Lake

Unfiltered 6/23/10Unfiltered 7/27/10

Conc

entr

ation

HgT

(ng/

L)

CONTAMINATED FILTER

Page 10: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Back-swimmers

Snails Amphipods Clams Limpet Fish0

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Total Hg Concentration in Invertebrates & Fish

CL01CL04CL05CL06CL09CL14

Conc

entr

ation

HgT

(ng/

g)

Page 11: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

CL01 Amphipods CL04 Amphipods CL09 Amphipods0

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Total Hg Concentration in Amphipods

Conc

entr

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HgT

(ng/

g)

Page 12: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

CL01 Spotted Sunfish

CL09 Largemouth Bass

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Total Mercury in FishMean Mercury Concentrations in Freshwater Fish SpeciesMean concentration (ppb) Bottom FeedersCarp 110White sucker 110Channel catfish 90 Predator FishLargemouth bass 460Smallmouth bass 340Walleye 520Brown trout 140 a EPA National Study of Chemical Residues in Fish 1987;b Concentrations are reported on wet weight basisSource: Bahnick et al., 1994.

705.6 ppb HgT 312.4 ppb HgT

Page 13: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

X 20,000

X 2

X 8

Filtere

d Wate

r

Unfiltered

Wate

r

Phytoplan

kton

Sedim

ent

Backsw

immers

Snails

Amphipods

Sunfish

0100200300400500600700800

Total Mercury at Site CL01

Conc

entr

ation

HgT

(ppb

)

Biomagnification of Total Mercury

Page 14: Biomagnification  of  Monomethylmercury in Carnegie Lake

Thanks to PEI, Dr. Eileen Zerba, Dr. Francois Morel, Frank Black, Nejma Piagentini, and my fellow interns for all your help this summer!