Abstract
Mercury contamination is a growing concern for freshwater food webs in ecosystems without point sources of mercury. Methylmercury (MeHg) is of particular concern, as this is the form of mercury that crosses the blood–brain barrier and is neurotoxic to organisms. Wetlands and benthic sediments have high organic content and low oxygen availability. Anaerobic bacteria drive the metabolic function in these ecosystems and subsequently can methylate mercury. The bioavailability of MeHg is controlled by physicochemical characteristics such as pH, binding affinities, and dissolved organic matter (DOM). Similarly, photodemethylation is influenced by similar characteristics and thereby the two processes should be studied in tandem. The degradation of MeHg through photochemistry is an effective destruction mechanism in freshwater lakes. This review will highlight the uncertainties and known effects of DOM on subsequent photoreactions that lead to the occurrence of mercury photodemethylation and reduction in mercury bioavailability in freshwater ecosystems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amirbahman A, Reid AL, Haines TA et al (2002) Association of methylmercury with dissolved humic acids. Environ Sci Technol 36:690–695. https://doi.org/10.1021/es011044q
Baker A, Spencer RGM (2004) Characterization of dissolved organic matter from source to sea using fluorescence and absorbance spectroscopy. Sci Total Environ 333:217–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.04.013
Barkay T, Wagner-Döbler I (2005) Microbial transformations of mercury: potentials, challenges, and achievements in controlling mercury toxicity in the environment. Adv Appl Microbiol 57:1–52
Barkay T, Gillman M, Turner RR (1997) Effects of dissolved organic carbon and salinity on bioavailability of mercury. Appl Environ Microbiol 63:4267–4271
Batchelar KL, Kidd KA, Drevnick PE et al (2013) Evidence of impaired health in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from a biological mercury hotspot in northeastern North America. Environ Toxicol Chem 32:627–637. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.2099
Benoit JM, Gilmour CC, Mason RP, Heyes A (1999) Sulfide controls on mercury speciation and bioavailability to methylating bacteria in sediment pore waters. Environ Sci Technol 33:951–957. https://doi.org/10.1021/es9808200
Benoit JM, Gilmour CC, Mason RP (2001) The influence of sulfide on solid-phase mercury bioavailability for methylation by pure cultures of Desulfobulbus propionicus (1pr3). Environ Sci Technol 35:127–132. https://doi.org/10.1021/es001415n
Benoit JM, Gilmour CC, Heyes A et al (2003) Geochemical and biological controls over methylmercury production and degradation in aquatic ecosystems. ACS symposium series. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, pp 262–297
Bertilsson S, Tranvik LJ (2000) Photochemical transformation of dissolved organic matter in lakes. Limnol Oceanogr 45:753–762
Black FJ, Poulin BA, Flegal AR (2012) Factors controlling the abiotic photo-degradation of monomethylmercury in surface waters. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 84:492–507. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2012.01.019
Bonzongo JCJ, Donkor AK (2003) Increasing UV-B radiation at the earth’s surface and potential effects on aqueous mercury cycling and toxicity. Chemosphere 52:1263–1273. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(03)00533-2
Branfireun BA, Roulet NT, Kelly CA, Rudd JWM (1999) In situ sulphate stimulation of mercury methylation in a boreal peatland: Toward a link between acid rain and methylmercury contamination in remote environments. Glob Biogeochem Cycles 13:743–750. https://doi.org/10.1029/1999GB900033
Bridou R, Monperrus M, Gonzalez PR et al (2011) Simultaneous determination of mercury methylation and demethylation capacities of various sulfate-reducing bacteria using species-specific isotopic tracers. Environ Toxicol Chem 30:337–344. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.395
Burgess NM, Meyer MW (2007) Methylmercury exposure associated with reduced productivity in common loons. Ecotoxicology 17:83–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-007-0167-8
Burns DA, Riva-Murray K (2018) Variation in fish mercury concentrations in streams of the Adirondack region, New York: A simplified screening approach using chemical metrics. Ecol Indic 84:648–661. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.09.031
Calder RSD, Schartup AT, Li M et al (2016) Future impacts of hydroelectric power development on methylmercury exposures of Canadian indigenous communities. Environ Sci Technol 50:13115–13122. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b04447
Carignan R, D’Arcy P, Lamontagne S (2000) Comparative impacts of fire and forest harvesting on water quality in Boreal Shield lakes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 57:105–117. https://doi.org/10.1139/f00-125
Chen CY, Stemberger RS, Kamman NC et al (2005) Patterns of Hg bioaccumulation and transfer in aquatic food webs across multi-lake studies in the northeast US. Ecotoxicology 14:135–147. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-004-6265-y
Chételat J, Amyot M, Garcia E (2011) Habitat-specific bioaccumulation of methylmercury in invertebrates of small mid-latitude lakes in North America. Environ Pollut 159:10–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2010.09.034
Clayden MG, Kidd KA, Wyn B et al (2013) Mercury biomagnification through food webs is affected by physical and chemical characteristics of lakes. Environ Sci Technol 47:12047–12053. https://doi.org/10.1021/es4022975
Clements WH, Hickey CW, Kidd KA (2012) How do aquatic communities respond to contaminants? It depends on the ecological context. Environ Toxicol Chem 31:1932–1940. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.1937
Compeau GC, Bartha R (1985) Sulfate-reducing bacteria: principal methylators of mercury in anoxic estuarine sediment. Appl Environ Microbiol 50:498–502
Cory RM, Boyer EW, McKnight DM (2011) Spectral methods to advance understanding of dissolved organic carbon dynamics in forested catchments. In: Levia DF, Carlyle-Moses D, Tanaka T (eds) Forest hydrology and biogeochemistry. Springer, Amsterdam, pp 117–135
de Wit HA, Granhus A, Lindholm M et al (2014) Forest harvest effects on mercury in streams and biota in Norwegian boreal catchments. For Ecol Manag 324:52–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.03.044
de Wit HA, Valinia S, Weyhenmeyer GA et al (2016) Current browning of surface waters will Be further promoted by wetter climate. Environ Sci Technol Lett 3:430–435. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00396
Dyrssen D, Wedborg M (1991) The sulphur-mercury(II) system in natural waters. Water Air Soil Pollut 56:507–519. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00342295
Eagles-Smith CA, Herring G, Johnson B, Graw R (2016) Conifer density within lake catchments predicts fish mercury concentrations in remote subalpine lakes. Environ Pollut 212:279–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.01.049
Eckley CS, Hintelmann H (2006) Determination of mercury methylation potentials in the water column of lakes across Canada. Sci Total Environ 368:111–125
Eckley CS, Watras CJ, Hintelmann H et al (2005) Mercury methylation in the hypolimnetic waters of lakes with and without connection to wetlands in northern Wisconsin. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 62:400–411
Evers DC, Han Y-J, Driscoll CT et al (2007) Biological mercury hotspots in the Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada. Bioscience 57:29–43. https://doi.org/10.1641/B570107
Fernández-Gómez C, Drott A, Björn E et al (2013) Towards universal wavelength-specific photodegradation rate constants for methyl mercury in humic waters, exemplified by a boreal lake-wetland gradient. Environ Sci Technol 47:6279–6287. https://doi.org/10.1021/es400373s
Filip DS, Lynn RI (1972) Mercury accumulation by the fresh water alga Selenastrum capricornutum. Chemosphere 1:251–254. https://doi.org/10.1016/0045-6535(72)90028-8
Fitzgerald WF, Engstrom DR, Mason RP, Nater EA (1998) The case for atmospheric mercury contamination in remote Areas. Environ Sci Technol 32:1–7. https://doi.org/10.1021/es970284w
Fleck JA, Gill G, Bergamaschi BA et al (2014) Concurrent photolytic degradation of aqueous methylmercury and dissolved organic matter. Sci Total Environ 484:263–275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.03.107
French TD, Houben AJ, Desforges J-PW et al (2014) Dissolved organic carbon thresholds affect mercury bioaccumulation in Arctic lakes. Environ Sci Technol 48:3162–3168. https://doi.org/10.1021/es403849d
Gherini SA, Hudson RJM, Watras CJ, Porcella DB (1994) Modeling the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in lakes: the mercury cycling model (MCM) and its application to the MTL study lakes. In: Watras CJ, Huckabee JW (eds) Mercury pollution: integration and synthesis. Lewis Publishers, Ann Arbor, pp 473–522
Gilmour CC, Henry EA, Mitchell R (1992) Sulfate stimulation of mercury methylation in freshwater sediments. Environ Sci Technol 26:2281–2287
Gilmour CC, Riedel GS, Ederington MC et al (1998) Methylmercury concentrations and production rates across a trophic gradient in the northern Everglades. Biogeochemistry 40:327–345. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005972708616
Gustin MS, Chavan PV, Dennett KE et al (2006) Evaluation of wetland methyl mercury export as a function of experimental manipulations. J Environ Qual 35:2352–2359. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2005.0478
Hammerschmidt CR, Fitzgerald WF (2006) Photodecomposition of methylmercury in an Arctic Alaskan lake. Environ Sci Technol 40:1212–1216. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0513234
Hammerschmidt CR, Fitzgerald WF (2010) Iron-mediated photochemical decomposition of methylmercury in an Arctic Alaskan lake. Environ Sci Technol 44:6138–6143. https://doi.org/10.1021/es1006934
Harris RC, Rudd JW, Amyot M et al (2007) Whole-ecosystem study shows rapid fish-mercury response to changes in mercury deposition. Proc Natl Acad Sci 104:16586–16591
Haverstock S, Sizmur T, Murimboh J, O’Driscoll NJ (2012) Modeling the photo-oxidation of dissolved organic matter by ultraviolet radiation in freshwater lakes: implications for mercury bioavailability. Chemosphere 88:1220–1226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.03.073
Helms JR, Stubbins A, Ritchie JD et al (2008) Absorption spectral slopes and slope ratios as indicators of molecular weight, source, and photobleaching of chromophoric dissolved organic matter. Limnol Oceanogr 53:955
Hill JR, O’Driscoll NJ, Lean DRS (2009) Size distribution of methylmercury associated with particulate and dissolved organic matter in freshwaters. Sci Total Environ 408:408–414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.09.030
Hines NA, Brezonik PL (2004) Mercury dynamics in a small Northern Minnesota lake: water to air exchange and photoreactions of mercury. Mar Chem 90:137–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2004.03.013
Hintelmann H, Welbourn PM, Evans RD (1995) Binding of methylmercury compounds by humic and fulvic acids. Water Air Soil Pollut 80:1031–1034. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01189760
Isidorova A, Bravo AG, Riise G et al (2016) The effect of lake browning and respiration mode on the burial and fate of carbon and mercury in the sediment of two boreal lakes: carbon and mercury burial. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 121:233–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JG003086
Jeremiason J, Portner JC, Aiken G et al (2015) Photoreduction of Hg(II) and photodemethylation of methylmercury: the key role of thiol sites on dissolved organic matter. Environ Sci Process Impacts 17:1892–1903. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5EM00305A
Kerin EJ, Gilmour CC, Roden E et al (2006) Mercury methylation by dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol 72:7919–7921. https://doi.org/10.1128/AEM.01602-06
Kidd K, Clayden M, Jardine T (2011) Bioaccumulation and biomagnification of mercury through food webs. In: Liu G, Cai Y, O’Driscoll N (eds) Environmental chemistry and toxicology of mercury. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 453–499
Kim M-K, Zoh K-D (2013) Effects of natural water constituents on the photo-decomposition of methylmercury and the role of hydroxyl radical. Sci Total Environ 449:95–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.01.039
Kim M-K, Won A-Y, Zoh K-D (2017) Effects of molecular size fraction of DOM on photodegradation of aqueous methylmercury. Chemosphere. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.02.033
Klapstein SJ, Ziegler SE, Risk DA, O’Driscoll NJ (2016) Quantifying the effects of photoreactive dissolved organic matter on methylmercury photodemethylation rates in freshwaters. Environ Toxicol Chem 36:1493–1502. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.3690
Klapstein S, Ziegler S, O’Driscoll N (2017) Methylmercury photodemethylation is inhibited in lakes with high dissolved organic matter. Environ Pollut. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2017.09.049
Krabbenhoft DP, Olson ML, Dewild JF et al (2002) Mercury loading and methylmercury production and cycling in high-altitude lakes from the Western United States. Water Air Soil Pollut Focus 2:233–249
Lam B, Baer A, Alaee M et al (2007) Major structural components in freshwater dissolved organic matter. Environ Sci Technol 41:8240–8247. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0713072
Lavoie RA, Jardine TD, Chumchal MM et al (2013) Biomagnification of mercury in aquatic food webs: a worldwide meta-analysis. Environ Sci Technol 47:13385–13394. https://doi.org/10.1021/es403103t
Lázaro WL, Díez S, da Silva CJ et al (2016) Waterscape determinants of net mercury methylation in a tropical wetland. Environ Res 150:438–445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2016.06.028
Lehnherr I (2014) Methylmercury biogeochemistry: a review with special reference to Arctic aquatic ecosystems. Environ Rev 22:229–243. https://doi.org/10.1139/er-2013-0059
Lehnherr I, St Louis VL (2009) Importance of ultraviolet radiation in the photodemethylation of methylmercury in freshwater ecosystems. Environ Sci Technol 43:5692–5698
Li Y, Mao Y, Liu G et al (2010) Degradation of methylmercury and its effects on mercury distribution and cycling in the Florida Everglades. Environ Sci Technol 44:6661–6666. https://doi.org/10.1021/es1010434
Li Y, Yin Y, Liu G et al (2012) Estimation of the major source and sink of methylmercury in the Florida Everglades. Environ Sci Technol 46:5885–5893. https://doi.org/10.1021/es204410x
Lin C-C, Yee N, Barkay T (2011) Microbial transformations in the mercury cycle. In: Liu G, Cai Y, O’Driscoll N (eds) Environmental chemistry and toxicology of mercury. Wiley, Hoboken, pp 155–191
Lindberg S, Bullock R, Ebinghaus R et al (2007) A synthesis of progress and uncertainties in attributing the sources of mercury in deposition. AMBIO J Hum Environ 36:19–33
Lindqvist O, Johansson K, Bringmark L et al (1991) Mercury in the Swedish environment: recent research on causes, consequences and corrective methods. Water Air Soil Pollut. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00542429
Luo H-W, Yin X, Jubb AM et al (2016) Photochemical reactions between mercury (Hg) and dissolved organic matter decrease Hg bioavailability and methylation. Environ Pollut. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2016.10.099
Mailman M, Stepnuk L, Cicek N, Bodaly RA (2006) Strategies to lower methyl mercury concentrations in hydroelectric reservoirs and lakes: a review. Sci Total Environ 368:224–235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.09.041
Marvin-DiPasquale MC, Oremland RS (1998) Bacterial methylmercury degradation in Florida Everglades peat sediment. Environ Sci Technol 32:2556–2563. https://doi.org/10.1021/es971099l
Mason RP, Lawrence AL (1999) Concentration, distribution, and bioavailability of mercury and methylmercury in sediments of Baltimore Harbor and Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA. Environ Toxicol Chem 18:2438–2447
Mazrui NM, Jonsson S, Thota S et al (2016) Enhanced availability of mercury bound to dissolved organic matter for methylation in marine sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2016.08.019
McClain ME, Boyer EW, Dent CL et al (2003) Biogeochemical hot spots and hot moments at the interface of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Ecosystems 6:301–312. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-003-0161-9
Meng F-R, Arp P, Sangster A et al (2005) Modeling dissolved organic carbon, total and methyl mercury in Kejimkujik freshwaters. In: O’Driscoll NJ, Rencz AN, Lean DRS (eds) Mercury cycling in a wetland-dominated ecosystem: a multidisciplinary study. Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Pensacola, pp 1–19
Mergler D, Anderson HA, Chan LHM et al (2007) Methylmercury exposure and health effects in humans: a worldwide concern. AMBIO 36:3–11
Miskimmin BM (1991) Effect of natural levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on methyl mercury formation and sediment-water partitioning. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 47:743–750. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01701144
Miskimmin BM, Rudd JWM, Kelly CA (1992) Influence of dissolved organic carbon, pH, and microbial respiration rates on mercury methylation and demethylation in lake water. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 49:17–22. https://doi.org/10.1139/f92-002
Mitchell CPJ, Branfireun BA, Kolka RK (2008) Spatial characteristics of net methylmercury production hot spots in peatlands. Environ Sci Technol 42:1010–1016. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0704986
Morel FMM, Kraepiel AML, Amyot M (1998) The chemical cycle and bioaccumulation of mercury. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 29:543–566
Morris DP, Zagarese H, Williamson CE et al (1995) The attenuation of solar UV radiation in lakes and the role of dissolved organic carbon. Limnol Oceanogr 40:1381–1391
Munthe J, Bodaly RA, Branfireun BA et al (2007) Recovery of mercury-contaminated fisheries. AMBIO 36:33–44
Ni B, Kramer JR, Bell RA, Werstiuk NH (2006) Protonolysis of the Hg-C bond of chloromethylmercury and dimethylmercury: a DFT and QTAIM study. J Phys Chem A 110:9451–9458. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp061852+
Nriagu JO (1993) Legacy of mercury pollution. Nature 363:589–589. https://doi.org/10.1038/363589a0
O’Driscoll NJ, Evans RD (2000) Analysis of methyl mercury binding to freshwater humic and fulvic acids by gel permeation chromatography/hydride generation ICP-MS. Environ Sci Technol 34:4039–4043. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0009626
O’Driscoll NJ, Lean DRS, Loseto LL et al (2004) Effect of dissolved organic carbon on the photoproduction of dissolved gaseous mercury in lakes: potential impacts of forestry. Environ Sci Technol 38:2664–2672
O’Driscoll NJ, Siciliano SD, Peak D et al (2006) The influence of forestry activity on the structure of dissolved organic matter in lakes: Implications for mercury photoreactions. Sci Total Environ 366:880–893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.09.067
Obrist D, Johnson DW, Lindberg SE et al (2011) Mercury distribution across 14 U.S. Forests: part I: spatial patterns of concentrations in biomass, litter, and soils. Environ Sci Technol 45:3974–3981. https://doi.org/10.1021/es104384m
Oremland RS, Culbertson CW, Winfrey MR (1991) Methylmercury decomposition in sediments and bacterial cultures: involvement of methanogens and sulfate reducers in oxidative demethylation. Appl Environ Microbiol 57:130–137
Osburn CL, Retamal L, Vincent WF (2009) Photoreactivity of chromophoric dissolved organic matter transported by the Mackenzie River to the Beaufort Sea. Mar Chem 115:10–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2009.05.003
Painter KJ, Westbrook CJ, Hall BD et al (2015) Effects of in-channel beaver impoundments on mercury bioaccumulation in Rocky Mountain stream food webs. Ecosphere 6:1–17. https://doi.org/10.1890/ES15-00167.1
Parks JM, Johs A, Podar M et al (2013) The genetic basis for bacterial mercury methylation. Science 339:1332–1335. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1230667
Pérez-Rodríguez M, Silva-Sánchez N, Kylander ME et al (2018) Industrial-era lead and mercury contamination in southern Greenland implicates North American sources. Sci Total Environ 613–614:919–930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.041
Podar M, Gilmour CC, Brandt CC et al (2015) Global prevalence and distribution of genes and microorganisms involved in mercury methylation. Sci Adv 1:e1500675. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1500675
Poste AE, Braaten HFV, de Wit HA et al (2015) Effects of photodemethylation on the methylmercury budget of boreal Norwegian lakes. Environ Toxicol Chem 34:1213–1223. https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.2923
Poulin BA, Ryan JN, Aiken GR (2014) Effects of iron on optical properties of dissolved organic matter. Environ Sci Technol 48:10098–10106. https://doi.org/10.1021/es502670r
Qian Y, Yin X, Lin H et al (2014) Why dissolved organic matter enhances photodegradation of methylmercury. Environ Sci Technol Lett 1:426–431. https://doi.org/10.1021/ez500254z
Rudd JWM (1995) Sources of methyl mercury to freshwater ecosystems: a review. Water Air Soil Pollut 80:697–713. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01189722
Schaefer JK, Morel FMM (2009) High methylation rates of mercury bound to cysteine by Geobacter sulfurreducens. Nat Geosci 2:123–126. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo412
Schaefer JK, Szczuka A, Morel FMM (2014) Effect of divalent metals on Hg(II) uptake and methylation by bacteria. Environ Sci Technol 48:3007–3013. https://doi.org/10.1021/es405215v
Schartup AT, Balcom PH, Soerensen AL et al (2015) Freshwater discharges drive high levels of methylmercury in Arctic marine biota. Proc Natl Acad Sci 112:11789–11794. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1505541112
Scully NM, Lean DRS (1994) The attenuation of ultraviolet radiation in temperate lakes. Erg Limnol 43:135–144
Sellers P, Kelly CA, Rudd JWM, MacHutchon AR (1996) Photodegradation of methylmercury in lakes. Nature 380:694–697. https://doi.org/10.1038/380694a0
Sellers P, Kelly CA, Rudd JWM (2001) Fluxes of methylmercury to the water column of a drainage lake: the relative importance of internal and external sources. Limnol Oceanogr 46:623–631. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2001.46.3.0623
Sherr E, Sherr B (1988) Role of microbes in pelagic food webs: A revised concept. Limnol Oceanogr 33:1225–1227. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1988.33.5.1225
Singer MB, Harrison LR, Donovan PM et al (2016) Hydrologic indicators of hot spots and hot moments of mercury methylation potential along river corridors. Sci Total Environ 568:697–711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.005
St. Louis VL, Rudd JWM, Kelly CA et al (2004) The rise and fall of mercury methylation in an experimental reservoir. Environ Sci Technol 38:1348–1358. https://doi.org/10.1021/es034424f
Stewart AR, Saiki MK, Kuwabara JS et al (2008) Influence of plankton mercury dynamics and trophic pathways on mercury concentrations of top predator fish of a mining-impacted reservoir. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 65:2351–2366. https://doi.org/10.1139/F08-140
Tai C, Li Y, Yin Y et al (2014) Methylmercury photodegradation in surface water of the Florida Everglades: importance of dissolved organic matter-methylmercury complexation. Environ Sci Technol 48:7333–7340. https://doi.org/10.1021/es500316d
Tossell JA (1998) Theoretical study of the photodecomposition of methyl Hg complexes. J Phys Chem A 102:3587–3591. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp980244u
Ullrich SM, Tanton TW, Abdrashitova SA (2001) Mercury in the aquatic environment: a review of factors affecting methylation. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 31:241–293. https://doi.org/10.1080/20016491089226
Walters DM, Jardine TD, Cade BS et al (2016) Trophic magnification of organic chemicals: a global synthesis. Environ Sci Technol. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6b00201
Watras CJ, Back RC, Halvorsen S et al (1998) Bioaccumulation of mercury in pelagic freshwater food webs. Sci Total Environ 219:183–208
Weishaar JL, Aiken GR, Bergamaschi BA et al (2003) Evaluation of specific ultraviolet absorbance as an indicator of the chemical composition and reactivity of dissolved organic carbon. Environ Sci Technol 37:4702–4708. https://doi.org/10.1021/es030360x
Willacker JJ, Eagles-Smith CA, Lutz MA et al (2016) Reservoirs and water management influence fish mercury concentrations in the western United States and Canada. Sci Total Environ 568:739–748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.050
Xun L, Campbell NER, Rudd JWM (1987) Measurements of specific rates of net methyl mercury production in the water column and surface sediments of acidified and circumneutral lakes. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 44:750–757. https://doi.org/10.1139/f87-091
Zepp RG, Schlotzhauer PF, Sink RM (1985) Photosensitized transformations involving electronic energy transfer in natural waters: role of humic substances. Environ Sci Technol 19:74–81. https://doi.org/10.1021/es00131a008
Zhang T, Hsu-Kim H (2010) Photolytic degradation of methylmercury enhanced by binding to natural organic ligands. Nat Geosci 3:473–476. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo892
Zhang D, Yin Y, Li Y et al (2016) Critical role of natural organic matter in photodegradation of methylmercury in water: molecular weight and interactive effects with other environmental factors. Sci Total Environ 578:535–541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.222
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Drs S.E. Ziegler and D.A. Risk for feedback on an early draft of this literature review as well as to the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada through a Collaborative Research and Training Experience Program (CREATE), and Doctoral Postgraduate Scholarship (PGS-D).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Klapstein, S.J., O’Driscoll, N.J. Methylmercury Biogeochemistry in Freshwater Ecosystems: A Review Focusing on DOM and Photodemethylation. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 100, 14–25 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2236-x
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-017-2236-x