Anton M. Scheuhammer talks
with ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions
about this month's New Hot Paper in the field of
Environment/Ecology. The author has also sent
along images of their work.
Article Title: Effects of environmental
methylmercury on the health of wild birds, mammals, and
fish
Authors:
Scheuhammer,
AM;Meyer, MW;Sandheinrich, MB;Murray, MW
Journal: AMBIO
Volume: 36
Issue: 1
Page: 12-18
Year: FEB 2007
* Carleton Univ, Environm Canada, Natl Wildlife Res Ctr,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3, Canada.
* Carleton Univ, Environm Canada, Natl Wildlife Res Ctr,
Ottawa, ON K1A 0H3, Canada.
(addresses have been truncated)
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
This paper is one of a series of synthesis papers published in the same
journal issue, summarizing the findings of a number of expert panels, and
presented at the 8th International Conference on Mercury as a
Global Pollutant (Madison, Wisconsin, 2006). The paper offers a succinct
review of the current state of science regarding the health effects in fish
and wildlife of low-level exposure to a high-priority environmental
contaminant (methylmercury).
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
The paper is a synthesis of knowledge regarding the toxic effects of
environmental mercury in fish and wildlife (wild birds and mammals), at
current levels of environmental exposure.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper
in layman's terms?
Loon chick about to have a blood and feather sample
taken for mercury analysis, before release back into
the wild.
A number of review articles discussing the toxic effects of mercury in fish
and wildlife have been written previously, but important recent research on
the subtle effects of methylmercury on brain chemistry, hormones, and
reproductive success, and the implications for population-level effects in
certain at-risk species, such as the common loon, have not been previously
reviewed.
These newer studies demonstrate that current levels of environmental
methylmercury exposure are sufficient to cause significant biological
impairments, both in individuals and in whole populations, in some
ecosystems.
How did you become involved in this research, and
were there any problems along the way?
My co-authors and I have been studying the effects of mercury in fish and
wildlife for many years. An invitation by the organizers of the
8th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant,
to contribute to an expert panel assessing the health effects of
methylmercury, presented an opportunity to work together to examine and
synthesize recent research findings into an integrated document that,
hopefully, will be of use to both scientists and policymakers.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
Although the industrial use of mercury in North America has declined
markedly since the 1980s, global consumption of coal for energy production
(a major source of atmospheric mercury emissions) is predicted to increase
throughout the 21st century. Studies to assess the impacts of
these increasing emissions will be needed.
As future regulatory and other controls to limit industrial mercury
emissions come into effect, we will need to determine if, and how quickly,
these actions have the desired effects of decreasing mercury concentrations
and toxicity in fish and wildlife.
Additional studies will be required to address differences in species
sensitivity to methylmercury, to clarify ecotoxicological effects on whole
populations and communities, and to understand the interactive effects of
mercury with other co-occurring environmental contaminants.
Do you foresee any social or political
implications for your research?
This and the other synthesis papers on mercury, published together, are
intended to be policy-relevant documents. Although direct policy
recommendations are not made in these papers, the detailed scientific
reviews are directly pertinent to policy discussions on the environmental
management of mercury, an issue of global concern.
A major conclusion of our paper is that significant reproductive and other
health impairments in some fish and wildlife species are probable at
currently realistic environmental concentrations of mercury—a finding
that has clear policy implications.
Anton M. Scheuhammer, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Environment Canada
National Wildlife Research Centre
Carleton University
Ottawa, Canada
Keywords: environmental methylmercury, brain chemistry,
hormones, reproductive success, wild birds, mammals, at-risk species,
common loon, significant biological impairments, reproductive and other
health impairments, ecosystems, ecotoxicological effects, environmental
concentrations mercury.