新的研究显示，被污染河流中的汞并不仅仅影响水中的生物，它已经通过蜘蛛和其它昆虫进入到了Shenandoah River附近的陆地上的食物链中。相关论文发表在4月18日的《科学》杂志上。
Daniel Cristol及其同僚报道说，有12种捕食陆地上昆虫的鸟的血液和羽毛中的汞浓度可能已经达到了有害的水平。它们体内的汞的水平与那些捕食水生昆虫的鸟类体内汞的水平相仿。当文章的作者对陆地鸟类的食物进行分析后发现，这些昆虫中蜘蛛是主要传递大量汞的元凶。文章的作者说，汞对河流的污染可能对捕食水滨附近的掠食性无脊椎动物的数百万禽鸟造成威胁。（来源：Eurekalert！中文版）
生物谷推荐原始出处：
（Science），Vol. 320. no. 5874, p. 335，Daniel A. Cristol, Ariel E. White
The Movement of Aquatic Mercury Through Terrestrial Food Webs
Daniel A. Cristol,* Rebecka L. Brasso, Anne M. Condon, Rachel E. Fovargue, Scott L. Friedman, Kelly K. Hallinger, Adrian P. Monroe, Ariel E. White
Mercury has contaminated rivers worldwide, with health consequences for aquatic organisms and humans who consume them. Researchers have focused on aquatic birds as sentinels for mercury. However, trophic transfer between adjacent ecosystems could lead to the export of aquatic mercury to terrestrial habitats. Along a mercury-contaminated river in Virginia, United States, terrestrial birds had significantly elevated levels of mercury in their blood, similar to their aquatic-feeding counterparts. Diet analysis revealed that spiders delivered much of the dietary mercury. We conclude that aquatic mercury pollution can move into terrestrial habitats, where it biomagnifies to levels in songbirds that may cause adverse effects. Rivers contaminated with mercury may pose a threat to the many bird species that feed on predatory invertebrates in adjacent riparian habitats.
