[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/EW-05-28-12-Birds-Mercury.mp3|titles=EW 05-28-12 Birds-Mercury]
Each year in the U.S. coal-fired utilities release some 50 tons of mercury into the air. Once emitted, the pollutant is delivered to the landscape, where it takes on its most toxic form – methylmercury – in wet ecosystems such as lakes and streams.
For some time we’ve know that mercury accumulates in the fat of larger animals and can cause developmental and neurological problems. That’s why we’re cautioned against eating too much fish.
David Evers, Executive Director of the Biodiversity Research Institute, says mercury winds up in birds through the same means that it winds up in us…
“If we’re eating a fish, that ate a fish, that ate a bug, that ate some methylmercury, those are the steps in the food web that start to become quite dangerous. And so for birds, birds eating fish can be a very dangerous way of bringing methylmercury into the bodies that impacts the reproductive success.”
New work has revealed that animals that eat aquatic insects are also vulnerable to mercury exposure…
“Findings now, that are very new, are that birds and bats that eat insects and other invertebrates like spiders can also build up methylmercury in their bodies at higher levels than once thought.”
Birds and bats are a vital part of healthy ecosystems, where they control insects and disperse seeds. Mercury can reduce the reproductive capacity of animals, in some bird species it is linked to a twenty percent loss in populations.
Birds enrich our lives and drive tourism. And our nation’s bats are already in jeopardy due to a crippling fungus. New EPA regulations will control mercury and other emissions from power plants by 2016, which is none too soon.
Photo, taken on January 6, 2012 using a Nikon Coolpix L110, courtesy of Bob Peterson via Flickr.
Web Extra
Full interview with David Evers, Executive Director of the Biodiversity Research Institute…
[audio:http://wamcradio.org/EarthWise/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Evers_full-interview.mp3|titles=Evers_full interview]Web Links
Biodiversity Research Institute
http://www.briloon.org/
Boston Globe article on mercury in birds
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/02/08/environmental-chain-reaction/tEGdcSBLeSNQUX8KnIstCL/story.html?s_campaign=8315