Inorganic mercury (Hg

The species composition and the size structure of natural planktonic food webs may provide essential information to understand the fate of mercury and, in particular, the bioaccumulation pattern of Hg2+ in the water column of lake ecosystems. Heterotrophic and autotrophic picoplankton and phytoplankton are the most important entry points for Hg in aquatic ecosystems since they concentrate Hg2+ and MeHg from ambient water, making them available to planktonic consumers at higher trophic levels of lake food webs. In this investigation we studied the uptake of 197Hg2+ in natural plankton assemblages from four Andean lakes (Nahuel Huapi National Park, Patagonia, Argentina), comprised in the size fractions 0.2-2.7 μm (picoplankton), 0.2-20 μm (pico and nanoplankton) and 20-50 μm (microplankton) through experiments using Hg2+ labeled with 197Hg2+. The experimental results showed that the uptake of Hg2+ was highest in the smallest plankton fractions (0.2-2.7 μm and 0.2-20 μm) compared to the larger fraction comprising microplankton (20-50 um). This pattern was consistent in all lakes, reinforcing the idea that among pelagic organisms, heterotrophic and autotrophic bacteria with the contribution of nanoflagellates and dinoflagellates constitute the main entry point of Hg2+ to the pelagic food web. Moreover, a significant direct relationship was found between the Hg2+ uptake and surface index of the planktonic fractions (SIf). Thus, the smaller planktonic fractions which bore the higher SI were the major contributors to the Hg2+ passing from the abiotic to the biotic pelagic compartments of these Andean lakes

Inorganic mercury (Hg2+) uptake by different plankton fractions of Andean Patagonian lakes (Argentina)

The species composition and the size structure of natural planktonic food webs may provide essential information to understand the fate of mercury and, in particular, the bioaccumulation pattern of Hg2+ in the water column of lake ecosystems. Heterotrophic and autotrophic picoplankton and phytoplankton are the most important entry points for Hg in aquatic ecosystems since they concentrate Hg2+ and MeHg from ambient water, making them available to planktonic consumers at higher trophic levels of lake food webs. In this investigation we studied the uptake of 197Hg2+ in natural plankton assemblages from four Andean lakes (Nahuel Huapi National Park, Patagonia, Argentina), comprised in the size fractions 0.2-2.7 μm (picoplankton), 0.2-20 μm (pico and nanoplankton) and 20-50 μm (microplankton) through experiments using Hg2+ labeled with 197Hg2+. The experimental results showed that the uptake of Hg2+ was highest in the smallest plankton fractions (0.2-2.7 μm and 0.2-20 μm) compared to the larger fraction comprising microplankton (20-50 um). This pattern was consistent in all lakes, reinforcing the idea that among pelagic organisms, heterotrophic and autotrophic bacteria with the contribution of nanoflagellates and dinoflagellates constitute the main entry point of Hg2+ to the pelagic food web. Moreover, a significant direct relationship was found between the Hg2+ uptake and surface index of the planktonic fractions (SIf). Thus, the smaller planktonic fractions which bore the higher SI were the major contributors to the Hg2+ passing from the abiotic to the biotic pelagic compartments of these Andean lakes

Some like it cold: microbial transformations of mercury in polar regions

The contamination of polar regions with mercury that is transported from lower latitudes as inorganic mercury has resulted in the accumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) in food chains, risking the health of humans and wildlife. While production of MeHg has been documented in polar marine and terrestrial environments, little is known about the responsible transformations and transport pathways and the processes that control them. We posit that as in temperate environments, microbial transformations play a key role in mercury geochemical cycling in polar regions by: (1) methylating mercury by one of four proposed pathways, some not previously described; (2) degrading MeHg by activities of mercury resistant and other bacteria; and (3) carrying out redox transformations that control the supply of the mercuric ion, the substrate of methylation reactions. Recent analyses have identified a high potential for mercury-resistant microbes that express the enzyme mercuric reductase to affect the production of gaseous elemental mercury when and where daylight is limited. The integration of microbially mediated processes in the paradigms that describe mercury geochemical cycling is therefore of high priority especially in light of concerns regarding the effect of global warming and permafrost thawing on input of MeHg to polar regions