Rapid increases in mercury concentrations in the eggs of mallards fed methylmercury
Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
By: Gary H. Heinz, David J. Hoffman, Jon D. Klimstra, and Katherine R. Stebbins
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Abstract
To determine how quickly breeding birds would have to feed in a mercury-contaminated area before harmful concentrations of mercury, as methylmercury, built up in their eggs, we fed female mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) a control diet or diets containing 0.5, 1, 2, 4, or 8 μg/g mercury (on what was close to a dry weight basis) as methylmercury chloride for 23 d. After 18 d on their respective mercury diets, the eggs of mallards fed 0.5, 1, 2, 4, or 8 μg/g mercury contained 97.8, 86.0, 89.9, 88.9, and 85.9%, respectively, of the peak concentrations reached after 23 d. Depending on the dietary concentration of mercury, no more than approximately a week may be required for harmful concentrations (0.5–0.8 μg/g, wet weight) to be excreted into eggs.
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Rapid increases in mercury concentrations in the eggs of mallards fed methylmercury |
| Series title | Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |
| Volume | 28 |
| Issue | 9 |
| Year Published | 2009 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |
| Publisher location | Brussels, Belgium |
| Contributing office(s) | Patuxent Wildlife Research Center |
| Description | 3 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Article |
| Larger Work Subtype | Journal Article |
| Larger Work Title | Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |
| First page | 1979 |
| Last page | 1981 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |