Project 2: Abstract Consumption of fish contaminated with mercury is a serious public health concern in the US and globally. Marine fish are the most important agents of exposure for humans to methylmercury (MeHg), the most toxic form of mercury. MeHg exposure is of particular concern for pregnant women and children and has known neurological, developmental, cardiovascular, and immunological effects. The overall goal of Project 2 is to determine how changes in multiple environmental factors will alter the production and fate of MeHg in estuarine food webs, which are important pathways of exposure to humans. We will investigate the interactive effects (additive and non-additive) of changes in temperature, salinity, and carbon content on the production and fate of MeHg in coastal marine systems in order to predict the net influence of regional variability as well as climate change on human exposure to MeHg. The project will utilize field studies and laboratory experiments to measure the effect of a range of environmentally relevant temperatures, salinities, and carbon loads on microbial activity, Hg methylation and MeHg demethylation rates, sediment MeHg content and Hg and MeHg flux from sediments to overlying water. Laboratory and mesocosm experiments will be conducted to examine the individual and combined effects of temperature, salinity and organic carbon on the bioconcentration of MeHg into phytoplankton, and trophic transfer to zooplankton and fish that are prey for higher trophic level fish consumed by humans. Field work and mesocosms experiments will be undertaken in estuaries located at different latitudes with high and low carbon concentrations in sediments in order to compare MeHg processes under different biogeochemical and temperature regimes. Data obtained from laboratory and field experiments will be used to parameterize and link current fate, transport, and bioaccumulation models with human exposure models. These combined approaches will improve our understanding of the impact of complex environmental alterations on MeHg fate and bioaccumulation in marine ecosystems, and the impact of these factors on MeHg exposure to humans.

Public Health Relevance

Project 2: Narrative Hg is a widespread contaminant in marine fish that has neurological, immunological, and cardiovascular effects on humans. Pregnant women and children are the most vulnerable populations. The proposed study will allow us to understand how changes in the environment will affect MeHg fate and bioaccumulation in fish and resulting impacts on human exposure to MeHg through fish consumption.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)
Type
Hazardous Substances Basic Research Grants Program (NIEHS) (P42)
Project #
2P42ES007373-19A1
Application #
8650449
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZES1)
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2014-04-01
Budget End
2015-03-31
Support Year
19
Fiscal Year
2014
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Dartmouth College
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Hanover
State
NH
Country
United States
Zip Code
03755
Punshon, Tracy; Carey, Anne-Marie; Ricachenevsky, Felipe Klein et al. (2018) Elemental distribution in developing rice grains and the effect of flag-leaf arsenate exposure. Environ Exp Bot 149:51-58
Liu, Maodian; Zhang, Qianru; Luo, Yao et al. (2018) Impact of Water-Induced Soil Erosion on the Terrestrial Transport and Atmospheric Emission of Mercury in China. Environ Sci Technol 52:6945-6956
Chen, Celia Y; Driscoll, Charles T (2018) Integrating mercury research and policy in a changing world. Ambio 47:111-115
Liu, Maodian; He, Yipeng; Baumann, Zofia et al. (2018) Traditional Tibetan Medicine Induced High Methylmercury Exposure Level and Environmental Mercury Burden in Tibet, China. Environ Sci Technol 52:8838-8847
Taylor, Vivien F; Li, Zhigang; Sayarath, Vicki et al. (2018) Author Correction: Distinct arsenic metabolites following seaweed consumption in humans. Sci Rep 8:4145
Emond, Jennifer A; Karagas, Margaret R; Baker, Emily R et al. (2018) Better Diet Quality during Pregnancy Is Associated with a Reduced Likelihood of an Infant Born Small for Gestational Age: An Analysis of the Prospective New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study. J Nutr 148:22-30
Jackson, Brian P (2018) Low level determination of gallium isotopes by ICP-QQQ. J Anal At Spectrom 33:897-900
Nachman, Keeve E; Punshon, Tracy; Rardin, Laurie et al. (2018) Opportunities and Challenges for Dietary Arsenic Intervention. Environ Health Perspect 126:84503
Koutros, Stella; Baris, Dalsu; Waddell, Richard et al. (2018) Potential effect modifiers of the arsenic-bladder cancer risk relationship. Int J Cancer 143:2640-2646
Liu, Maodian; Chen, Long; He, Yipeng et al. (2018) Impacts of farmed fish consumption and food trade on methylmercury exposure in China. Environ Int 120:333-344

Showing the most recent 10 out of 372 publications