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Castro, M. S., E. N. McLaughlin, S. L. Davis and R. P. Morgan. 2002. Total mercury concentrations in lakes and fish of western Maryland, USA. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 42(4): 454-462. In a Nutshell: Problem - Freshwater fish in lakes of western Maryland may contain different amounts of mercury because of regional variations in the atmospheric mercury inputs caused by the rain shadow of the Appalachian Plateau. What - We measured total mercury concentrations in three lakes in western Maryland; two on the high mercury deposition Appalachian plateau and one in the rain shadow of the plateau (Lake Habeeb at Rocky Gap State Park). Findings - Fish in lakes on the Appalachian plateau had significantly higher concentrations of total mercury compared to fish in the rain shadow of the plateau (Lake Habeeb). In addition, mercury concentrations in fish in Lake Habeeb were independent of the age, which is unlike the results from many previous studies. Potential Applications - We need to determine the mechanism responsible for limiting the accumulation of mercury in fish at Lake Habeeb and apply this mechanism to prevent mercury from accumulating in fish in other lakes. |
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