Mercury Correlations Among Six Tissue Types in Waterbirds in San Francisco Bay

2008 | Publisher: USGS | Science Center: Western Ecological Research Center (WERC, Sacramento) | Format: .PDF

www.werc.usgs.gov — Mercury is a contaminant of significant concern in waterbirds because it can accumulate to high concentrations in their tissues and cause deleterious effects such as impaired reproduction. Numerous studies and monitoring programs have evaluated concentrations of mercury in waterbird tissues as an index of risk to exposure. However, no single More... Mercury is a contaminant of significant concern in waterbirds because it can accumulate to high concentrations in their tissues and cause deleterious effects such as impaired reproduction. Numerous studies and monitoring programs have evaluated concentrations of mercury in waterbird tissues as an index of risk to exposure. However, no single tissue has been commonly used to assess mercury exposure, nor is it clear how mercury concentrations in one tissue type relate to concentrations in other tissues. USGS and USFWS scientists investigated the relationships between mercury concentrations in six different tissues of four waterbird species, and provide equations to predict concentrations in one tissue from those in another. Overall, their work shows that for migratory species blood is an excellent, non-lethal predictor of mercury concentrations in internal tissues but that feathers are relatively poor indicators of mercury concentrations in internal tissues. Less...