Biodiversity Research Institute, Gorham, ME 04038, USA.
Ecotoxicology. 2011 Oct;20(7):1487-99. doi: 10.1007/s10646-011-0784-0. Epub 2011 Sep 11.
This special issue examines bioaccumulation and risks of methylmercury in food webs, fish and wildlife in the Laurentian Great Lakes region of North America, and explores mercury policy in the region and elsewhere in the United States and Canada. A total of 35 papers emanated from a bi-national synthesis of multi-media data from monitoring programs and research investigations on mercury in aquatic and terrestrial biota, a 3-year effort involving more than 170 scientists and decision-makers from 55 different universities, non-governmental organizations, and governmental agencies. Over 290,000 fish mercury data points were compiled from monitoring programs and research investigations. The findings from this scientific synthesis indicate that (1) mercury remains a pollutant of major concern in the Great Lakes region, (2) that the scope and intensity of the problem is greater than previously recognized and (3) that after decades of declining mercury levels in fish and wildlife concentrations are now increasing in some species and areas. While the reasons behind these shifting trends require further study, they also underscore the need to identify information gaps and expand monitoring efforts to better track progress. This will be particularly important as new pollution prevention measures are implemented, as global sources increase, and as the region faces changing environmental conditions.
本特刊探讨了北美的北美大湖地区的食物网、鱼类和野生动物中的生物累积和甲基汞风险，并探讨了该地区和美国及加拿大其他地区的汞政策。这是一个涉及来自监测项目和关于水生和陆地生物群系汞的研究调查的多媒体数据的跨国综合研究，共有 35 篇论文，这是一项为期 3 年的努力，涉及来自 55 个不同大学、非政府组织和政府机构的 170 多名科学家和决策者。从监测项目和研究调查中汇编了超过 290,000 个鱼类汞数据点。这项科学综合研究的结果表明：(1) 汞仍然是大湖地区的主要关注污染物；(2) 问题的范围和强度比以前认识到的更大；(3) 经过几十年鱼类和野生动物中汞含量的下降，现在某些物种和地区的浓度正在增加。虽然这些变化趋势背后的原因需要进一步研究，但它们也强调了需要确定信息差距并扩大监测工作以更好地跟踪进展。随着新的污染预防措施的实施、全球来源的增加以及该地区面临不断变化的环境条件，这将尤为重要。
