title: The relationship between Adirondack lake pH and levels of mercury in yellow perch.
abstract: Levels of total mercury in yellow perch Perca flavescens from Adirondack lakes were studied in relation to characteristics of the lakes to determine why some lakes had fish with higher concentrations of mercury. Almost all mercury in fish is in the form of methylmercury, which can pose significant health hazards to humans who consume such fish. Fish mercury concentrations and water chemistry data were analyzed from eight Adirondack lakes. Four lakes (Halfmoon Lake, Sand Pond, Rock Pond, and Upper Sister Lake) had pH values of less than 5.0. Four other lakes (Lake Adirondack, Kings Flow, Harris Lake, and Lake Kushaqua) had pH values of more than 7.0. The acidic lakes also had high levels of aluminum and low acid-neutralizing capacity relative to the neutral lakes. Yellow perch (n = 100) from the acidic lakes had significantly higher levels of mercury than did those (n = 102) from the neutral lakes (P < 0.001), and the total mercury concentration increased with both length and weight of the fish. We conclude that the pH of the lake water is a major factor in determining the concentration of methylmercury in yellow perch.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Health and the Environment, University at Albany, 5 University Place, Rensselaer, New York 12144, USA.
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Alexey
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goncharov
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.forename: Howard
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Simonin
authors.forename: David O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Carpenter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008628:Mercury / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D009518:New York; D010471:Perches / Q000378:metabolism*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D008628:Mercury