Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > MF > MF09126
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 61(4)

Northern Australia, whither the mercury?

Timothy D. Jardine A B and Stuart E. Bunn A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Australian Rivers Institute and Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK), Griffith University, Nathan, Brisbane, Qld 4111, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: t.jardine@griffith.edu.au

Marine and Freshwater Research 61(4) 451-463 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF09126
Submitted: 2 June 2009  Accepted: 15 September 2009   Published: 27 April 2010

Abstract

Biomagnification of mercury (Hg) leads to high concentrations in fish and subsequent health risks for fish-eaters. Despite the global concern afforded to Hg over the past 40 years, little attention has been paid to this toxic heavy metal in Australia in general, and tropical northern Australia in particular. This review examines past Hg research in Australia and explores seven hypotheses as to why so little research and monitoring has been conducted in northern rivers and estuaries. We rule out the possibility that fishing intensity (an indicator of potential Hg exposure in humans) is lower in Australia than in other countries with more intensive Hg research programs. Instead, we hypothesise that low atmospheric deposition, owing to prevailing wind direction and few local point sources, coupled with highly productive waterbodies, contributes to low Hg bioaccumulation and hence the reduced interest in measuring Hg. Outstanding questions regarding Hg in northern Australia include the assessment of atmospheric deposition rates of Hg, the trophic level and growth and food consumption rates of consumers such as large-bodied fishes, linkages between fire regimes and Hg availability, and the capacity for in situ Hg methylation in tropical systems.

Additional keywords: atmospheric deposition, fire, fishing intensity, productivity, trophic level.


Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funding to the Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge Program (TRaCK). TRaCK receives major funding for its research through the Australian Government’s Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities initiative; the Australian Government’s Raising National Water Standards Program; Land and Water Australia; the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and the Queensland Government’s Smart State Innovation Fund. Comments from Steve Hamilton and two anonymous reviewers improved earlier versions of this manuscript.


References

Abe, T. , Ohtsuka, R. , Hongo, T. , Suzuki, T. , Tohyama, C. , Nakano, A. , Akagi, H. , and Akimichi, T. (1995). High hair and urinary mercury levels of fish eaters in the non-polluted environment of Papua New Guinea. Archives of Environmental Health 50, 367–373.
|  CAS | PubMed | Allen G. R. (2002). ‘Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of Australia.’ (Perth: Western Australian Museum.)

Amirbahman, A. , Ruck, P. L. , Fernandez, I. J. , Haines, T. A. , and Kahl, J. S. (2004). The effect of fire on mercury cycling in the soils of forested watersheds: Acadia National Park, Maine, USA. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 152, 315–331.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Davies P. M., Bunn S. E., and Hamilton S. K. (2007). Primary production in tropical streams and rivers. In ‘Tropical Stream Ecology’. (Ed. D. Dudgeon.) pp. 23–42. (Academic Press: Amsterdam.)

Davis, T. L. O. (1985). The food of barramundi, Lates calcarifer (Bloch), in coastal and inland waters of Van Diemen Gulf and the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia. Journal of Fish Biology 26, 669–682.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) (2004). Food Standards Code, Standard 1.4.1. Food Standards Australia New Zealand, Canberra.

Ford, P. , Tillman, P. , Robson, B. , and Webster, I. T. (2005). Organic carbon deliveries and their flow related dynamics in the Fitzroy estuary. Marine Pollution Bulletin 51, 119–127.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Hart B. T., and McKelvie I. D. (1986) Chemical limnology in Australia. In ‘Limnology in Australia’. (Eds D. De Deckker and W. D. Williams.) pp. 3–31. (CSIRO: Melbourne.)

Haynes C. D. (1991). Use and impact of fire. In ‘Monsoonal Australia – Landscape, Ecology and Man in the Northern Lowlands’. (Eds C. D. Haynes, M. G. Ridpath and M. A. J. Williams.) pp. 61–71. (A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.)

Haynes, D. , and Michalek-Wagner, K. (2000). Water quality in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area: past perspectives, current issues and new research directions. Marine Pollution Bulletin 41, 428–434.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Health Canada (2004). ‘Mercury: Your Health and the Environment.’ (Health Canada Mercury Issues Task Group: Ottawa, ON.)

Hill, W. R. , and Larsen, I. L. (2005). Growth dilution of metals in microalgal biofilms. Environmental Science & Technology 39, 1513–1518.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Kingston D. (1991). Hydrology of the northern wetlands. In ‘Monsoonal Australia – Landscape, Ecology and Man in the Northern Lowlands’. (Eds C. D. Haynes, M. G. Ridpath and M. A. J. Williams.) pp. 31–35. (A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.)

Kiriluk, R. M. , Servos, M. R. , Whittle, D. M. , Cabana, G. , and Rasmussen, J. B. (1995). Using ratios of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes to characterize the biomagnification of DDE, Mirex, and PCB in a Lake Ontario pelagic food web. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 52, 2660–2674.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Meehan B. (1991). Wetland hunters: some reflections. In ‘Monsoonal Australia – Landscape, Ecology and Man in the Northern Lowlands’. (Eds C. D. Haynes, M. G. Ridpath and M. A. J. Williams.) pp. 197–206. (A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.)

Mergler, D. , Andersen, H. , Chan, H. M. , Mahaffey, K. , Murray, M. , Sakamoto, M. , and Stern, A. (2007). Methylmercury exposure and health effects in humans: a worldwide concern. Ambio 36, 3–11.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Morton S. R., and Brennan K. G. (1991). Birds. In ‘Monsoonal Australia – Landscape, Ecology and Man in the Northern Lowlands’. (C. D. Haynes, M. G. Ridpath and M. A. J. Williams.) pp. 133–149. (A. A. Balkema: Rotterdam, The Netherlands.)

Mukherjee, A. B. , Zevenhoven, R. , Bhattacharya, P. , Sajwan, K. S. , and Kikuchi, R. (2008). Mercury flow via coal and coal utilization by-products: a global perspective. Resources, Conservation and Recycling 52, 571–591.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | National Atmospheric Deposition Program (2007). National Atmospheric Deposition Program 2006 Annual Summary. NADP Data Report 2007-01. Illinois State Water Survey, Champaign, IL.

Nelson, P. F. (2007). Atmospheric emissions of mercury from Australian point sources. Atmospheric Environment 41, 1717–1724.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | Pusey B., Kennard M., and Arthington A. (2004). ‘Freshwater Fishes of North-Eastern Australia.’ (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne.)

Rainwater, T. R. , Adair, B. M. , Platt, S. G. , Anderson, T. A. , Cobb, G. P. , and McMurry, S. T. (2002). Mercury in Morelet’s crocodile eggs from northern Belize. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 42, 319–324.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | Troyer W. (1977). ‘No Safe Place.’ (Clarke, Irwin & Company: Toronto, Canada.)

Trudel, M. , and Rasmussen, J. B. (2006). Bioenergetics and mercury dynamics in fish: a modeling perspective. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 63, 1890–1902.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | United States Environmental Protection Agency (2001). Fact sheet-mercury update. Impact on fish advisories. USEPA, Washington, DC.

Van Oostdam, J. , Gilman, A. , Dewailly, E. , Usher, P. , and Wheatley, B. , et al. (1999). Human health implications of environmental contaminants in Arctic Canada: a review. The Science of the Total Environment 230, 1–82.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |

Vander Zanden, M. J. , and Rasmussen, J. B. (1996). A trophic position model of pelagic food webs: impact on contaminant bioaccumulation in lake trout. Ecological Monographs 66, 451–477.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Vander Zanden, M. J. , Cabana, G. , and Rasmussen, J. B. (1997). Comparing trophic position of freshwater fish calculated using stable nitrogen isotope ratios (δ15N) and literature dietary data. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 54, 1142–1158.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Vander Zanden, M. J. , Shuter, B. J. , Lester, N. , and Rasmussen, J. B. (1999). Patterns of food chain length in lakes: a stable isotope study. American Naturalist 154, 406–416.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |

Vigilante, T. , Bowman, D. M. J. S. , Fisher, R. , Russell-Smith, J. , and Yates, C. (2004). Contemporary landscape burning patterns in the far North Kimberley region of north-west Australia: human influences and environmental determinants. Journal of Biogeography 31, 1317–1333.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Walker, T. I. (1982). Effects of length and locality on the mercury content of blacklip abalone, Notohaliotis ruber (Leach), blue mussel, Mytilus edulis planulatus (Lamarck), sand flathead, Platycephalus bassensis Cuvier & Valenciennes, and long-nosed flathead, Platycephalus caeruleopunctatus (McCulloch), from Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 33, 553–560.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |

Watras, C. J. , Back, R. C. , Halvorsen, S. , Hudson, R. J. M. , Morrison, K. A. , and Wente, S. P. (1998). Bioaccumulation of mercury in pelagic freshwater food webs. The Science of the Total Environment 219, 183–208.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed |

Weber, J. H. (1993). Review of possible paths for abiotic methylation of mercury (II) in the aquatic environment. Chemosphere 26, 2063–2077.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |

Whitehead, P. , and Tschirner, K. (1992). Sex and age related variation in foraging strategies of magpie geese Anseranas semipalmata. Emu 92, 28–32.


Zhang, G. , Liu, C.-Q. , Wu, P. , and Yang, Y. (2004). The geochemical characteristics of mine-waste calcines and runoff from the Wanshan mercury mine, Guizhou, China. Applied Geochemistry 19, 1735–1744.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS |