Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, South Dakota State University, Box 2140B, Brookings, SD 57007, USA.
Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2011 Feb;86(2):163-7. doi: 10.1007/s00128-010-0166-y. Epub 2010 Dec 9.
Elevated mercury concentration has been documented in a variety of fish and is a growing concern for human consumption. Here, we explore the influence of physiochemical and watershed attributes on mercury concentration in walleye (Sander vitreus, M.) from natural, glacial lakes in South Dakota. Regression analysis showed that water quality attributes were poor predictors of walleye mercury concentration (R² = 0.57, p = 0.13). In contrast, models based on watershed features (e.g., lake level changes, watershed slope, agricultural land, wetlands) and local habitat features (i.e., substrate composition, maximum lake depth) explained 81% (p = 0.001) and 80% (p = 0.002) of the variation in walleye mercury concentration. Using an information theoretic approach we evaluated hypotheses related to water quality, physical habitat and watershed features. The best model explaining variation in walleye mercury concentration included local habitat features (W(i) = 0.991). These results show that physical habitat and watershed features were better predictors of walleye mercury concentration than water chemistry in glacial lakes of the Northern Great Plains.
汞浓度升高已在多种鱼类中得到证实，这是人类食用鱼类的一个日益关注的问题。在这里，我们探讨了在南达科他州的天然冰川湖中，水化学和流域属性对大眼梭鲈（Sander vitreus，M.）体内汞浓度的影响。回归分析表明，水质属性是大眼梭鲈体内汞浓度的不良预测因子（R²=0.57，p=0.13）。相比之下，基于流域特征（如湖泊水位变化、流域坡度、农业用地、湿地）和局部生境特征（即基质组成、最大湖泊深度）的模型解释了 81%（p=0.001）和 80%（p=0.002）的大眼梭鲈体内汞浓度变化。我们使用信息理论方法评估了与水质、物理生境和流域特征相关的假设。解释大眼梭鲈体内汞浓度变化的最佳模型包括局部生境特征（W(i) = 0.991）。这些结果表明，在北普拉特北部大平原的冰川湖中，物理生境和流域特征是大眼梭鲈体内汞浓度的更好预测因子，而不是水化学。
