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Principal Investigator(s):
Nina Schoch, David Evers
Project Update (630kb .pdf)
Anthropogenic inputs of mercury into the environment have resulted in increasing levels of mercury found in certain species of fish and birds. Using the common loon (Gavia immer) as a bioindicator of mercury toxicity, this research is assessing levels of abiotic and biotic mercury exposure.
A mercury exposure profile will be developed by evaluating mercury levels in sediment, water, and biota in 40-50 lakes. By determining the differences in reproductive success and survival in common loons in relation to their mercury exposure, a mercury hazard profile will be created. The ecological risk that mercury deposition poses to Adirondack bodies of water will be quantitatively assessed through development of a wildlife criterion value, using the mercury levels obtained during data collection.
Furthermore, data collected for this project will be used to develop a population model, to determine whether mercury contamination is negatively affecting the loon population in the Adirondack Park.
Partners: Wildlife Conservation Society, BioDiversity Research Institute, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, Audubon Society of New York State, Inc. - cooperators: Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, Adirondack Effects Assessment Program, Syracuse University's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Downloads:
Project Update (630kb .pdf)
Call of the Loon Documentary Available:
This 57 minute documentary follows the story of mercury as it travels from smoke stacks to loons on remote Adirondack lakes, and examines the response of government in protecting the well being of public health and the environment. Call of the Loon was produced by Mountain Lake PBS, located in Plattsburgh, NY, with support from NYSERDA's EMEP program. The documentary is available for purchase from Mountain Lake PBS at: http://www.mountainlake.org/loon/index.ASP.
A short video clip of the documentary may also be viewed at: http://www.mountainlake.org/loon/video.ASP
Beaver Lake - Lewis County, Canada Lake, Chaumont Lake, Cranberry Lake, Ferris Lake, G Lake, Garnet Lake, Henderson Lake, Lake Abanakee, Limekiln Lake, Lows Lake, Mason Lake, Massawepie Lake, Moss Lake, Nicks Lake, Private #1 - Hamilton County, Putnam Pond
Latitude/Longitude: (5kb .pdf)
Region(s): North Country
County(ies): Fulton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Franklin, Hamilton, Essex, Warren, Clinton
Sampled Medium(Media): lake water, loon blood/feathers, loon eggs, lake sediment, zooplankton, crayfish, fish
Analyte(s): mercury
Sampling Technolog(ies): loon samples: nightlighting, playback, lake water samples: clean-hands/dirty-hands protocol, zooplankton samples: tow nets, crayfish: visual scans and traps, sediment samples: sediment core samples, fish samples: hook and line, trap nets, seine nets, gill nets
Sampling Frequency:
Total Costs: $729,090
NYSERDA Costs: $380,914
Funding Source(s): NYSERDA, Wildlife Conservation Society, Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Contract Initiated: June, 2003
Estimated Completion Date: June, 2007
Project Website: www.adkscience.org/loons
Related EMEP Projects: Howard Simonin 7612_7716, Karen Roy 4915, Ron Munson 4916
Related Link(s): http://www.briloon.org
http://www.adirondacklakessurvey.org
http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dshm/redrecy/mercury.htm
http://www.epa.gov/mercury
Nina Schoch
Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program
P.O. Box 195
Ray Brook, New York 12977-0195
PH: (518) 891-8836
Email: aclp2@juno.com
David Evers
Biodiversity Research Institute
411 US Rte. One N., Suite 1
Falmouth, ME 04105
PH: (207) 781-3324
Fax: (207) 781-2804
david.evers@briloon.org
