Existing research suggests that higher levels of mercury in fish consumed by people may harm an unborn baby or young child’s developing nervous system, and concentrated forms of mercury are toxic.
Existing research suggests that higher levels of mercury in fish consumed by people may harm an unborn baby or young child’s developing nervous system, and concentrated forms of mercury are toxic. Under the supervision of biology Professor Sapna Sharma, York Research Chair in Global Change Biology, MSc student Miranda Chen worked with BSc student Lianna Lopez and the sportfish contaminant group at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment & Climate Change (MOECC) to add to this knowledge. They undertook some pressing research on increasing mercury levels in southern Ontario’s top predator fishes.
“We wanted to evaluate fish mercury trends under multiple stressors and to improve our understanding of how intricate climatic processes can impact fish mercury levels,” Chen explained.
The researchers discovered that a combination of weather, climate and mercury emissions were responsible for rising mercury levels in predatory fishes.
“Identifying the role of climate on increasing fish mercury levels is crucial, particularly in light of decreasing mercury emissions,” Sharma emphasizes. “It provides a way for us to assess how changing multiple environmental stressors may impact health of wildlife and humans consuming fish.”
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