Effects of nutrient cycling on contaminant fate in aquatic food webs

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There is ongoing global concern about increasing anthropogenic releases of mercury (Hg) because it is deposited into aquatic systems, transformed by bacteria to methyl Hg (MeHg), and biomagnified (increases in concentration from prey to predator) through aquatic food chains to concentrations that may be toxic for fish-eating consumers or the fish themselves. Stable nitrogen isotopes (delta15N) are commonly used to understand the relative trophic position of aquatic organisms and the rate at which contaminants such as Hg are transferred through food webs. In diverse ecosystems, mercury concentrations in aquatic biota are significantly and positively related to their delta15N, but the rate (slope) of this transfer varies across systems for reasons that remain unexplained.