Mercury concentrations and stable isotope ratios of consumers from different subhabitats of wetlands in the San Francisco Bay, CA

Primary and secondary consumers are important links in the trophic transfer of methylmercury, and their methylmercury concentrations are often measured to assess the potential risk of toxicity to higher trophic level consumers, including humans. A better understanding of the link between methylmercury production in sediments and methylmercury bioaccumulation in tidal marsh primary and secondary consumers will improve the design of contaminant monitoring, remediation, and restoration efforts, thereby protecting human and wildlife health. To advance this goal, we characterized spatial variation in sediment biogeochemistry and methylmercury concentrations of sediments, water, and consumer tissues at a meso-scale among marsh subhabitats. Methylmercury concentrations and stable isotope ratios were measured in 15 genera of tidal marsh primary and secondary consumers (Genera: Assiminea, Myostotella, Geukensia, Macoma, Traskorchestia, Bembidion, Pardosa, Palaemon, Hemigrapsus, Tridentiger, Acanthogobius, Gillichthys, Gambusia, Gasterosteus, and Cottus). Samples were collected in four subhabitats: marsh edges, marsh interiors, 1st order channels, and 3rd order channels during summer of 2006.

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  "010:12"
]

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  "geospatial"
]