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Mercury Biomagnification In Aquatic Food Webs Of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Zachary Winston Clark
Mercury Biomagnification In Aquatic Food Webs Of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Zachary Winston Clark
Masters Theses
Mercury is a widespread pollutant threatening human, fish, and ecosystem health on a global scale. Biomagnification concentrates mercury in upper trophic level organisms including predatory fishes, a primary route of dietary mercury exposure for humans. However, mercury biomagnification is not well understood in stream ecosystems, especially in places with no known point sources of contamination. A 2016 study revealed that Smallmouth Bass Micropterus dolomeiu mercury concentrations varied between three streams in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), Tennessee USA. However, the reason for this spatial variation in mercury concentrations is not understood. Our objectives were to (1) measure environmental and …