Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2005 Food containing mercury has been identified as a possible health risk. Total mercury (THg), which is inorganic (Hg²), and methylmercury (MeHg) species, has been found in the arctic food web. In Alaska, birds are an important seasonal component of th...
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ftunivalaska:oai:scholarworks.alaska.edu:11122/5940 2023-05-15T15:07:49+02:00 Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone Rothschild, Roger F. N. 2005-08 http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5940 en_US eng http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5940 Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry Thesis ms 2005 ftunivalaska 2023-02-23T21:36:32Z Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2005 Food containing mercury has been identified as a possible health risk. Total mercury (THg), which is inorganic (Hg²), and methylmercury (MeHg) species, has been found in the arctic food web. In Alaska, birds are an important seasonal component of the diet, but have not been studied extensively and characterized for the presence of mercury. Birds are good subjects for examination because they feed at different trophic levels, can be long-lived, and are both abundant and widely distributed. Not only can birds monitor local Alaskan food webs, but, if they are migratory, can be used to compare exposure in different regions. Mercury levels in muscle, brain, and bone tissue of 140 birds taken by subsistence hunters across southwestern Alaska were determined. I tested the null hypothesis of no interspecific differences in total mercury levels in the 18 species of Alaska birds surveyed. There were interspecific differences with the Lesser Scaup (Aythyra marila mariloides), and the Black Scoter (Melanita nigra Americana), having the highest levels of mercury. In general, mercury levels were higher in muscle than in brain or bone. The mean values for mercury in the species studied were lower than the levels known to cause adverse reproductive or behavioral effects. Thesis Arctic Alaska University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA Arctic Fairbanks |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA |
op_collection_id |
ftunivalaska |
language |
English |
description |
Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2005 Food containing mercury has been identified as a possible health risk. Total mercury (THg), which is inorganic (Hg²), and methylmercury (MeHg) species, has been found in the arctic food web. In Alaska, birds are an important seasonal component of the diet, but have not been studied extensively and characterized for the presence of mercury. Birds are good subjects for examination because they feed at different trophic levels, can be long-lived, and are both abundant and widely distributed. Not only can birds monitor local Alaskan food webs, but, if they are migratory, can be used to compare exposure in different regions. Mercury levels in muscle, brain, and bone tissue of 140 birds taken by subsistence hunters across southwestern Alaska were determined. I tested the null hypothesis of no interspecific differences in total mercury levels in the 18 species of Alaska birds surveyed. There were interspecific differences with the Lesser Scaup (Aythyra marila mariloides), and the Black Scoter (Melanita nigra Americana), having the highest levels of mercury. In general, mercury levels were higher in muscle than in brain or bone. The mean values for mercury in the species studied were lower than the levels known to cause adverse reproductive or behavioral effects. |
format |
Thesis |
author |
Rothschild, Roger F. N. |
spellingShingle |
Rothschild, Roger F. N. Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone |
author_facet |
Rothschild, Roger F. N. |
author_sort |
Rothschild, Roger F. N. |
title |
Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone |
title_short |
Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone |
title_full |
Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone |
title_fullStr |
Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone |
title_full_unstemmed |
Heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern Alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone |
title_sort |
heavy metal tissue distributions in southwestern alaskan waterfowl: total mercury assays from muscle, brain, and bone |
publishDate |
2005 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5940 |
geographic |
Arctic Fairbanks |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Fairbanks |
genre |
Arctic Alaska |
genre_facet |
Arctic Alaska |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/5940 Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry |
_version_ |
1766339243560402944 |