Mercury in Waterfowl from Eastern Canada

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Abstract
Average wet-weight concentrations of total Hg were 0.15 and 0.31 ppm in breast muscle of 146 dabbling (Anatinae) and 61 diving ducks (Aythyinae) from 21 sites in eastern Canada sampled prior to the 1970 hunting season and during the 1971 season. Concentrations exceeded 0.5 ppm in only a few samples, mostly taken near known industrial sources of Hg contamination. In 128 pooled samples of muscle from the wings of 1480 ducks harvested in 13 regions during the 1970 season, Hg concentration averaged 0.13 ppm in both dabblers and divers. A highly significant relationship between Hg levels in wing muscle and those in breast muscle was found in black ducks (Anas rubripes) and lesser scaups (Aythya affinis). Ducks collected in 1971 and 1972 from the Wabigoon-English River watershed in northwestern Ontario were very highly contaminated, extreme concentrations of 9.43, 9.10 and 14.7 ppm being noted in the breast muscle of the mallard (Anas platyrhynchos), blue-winged teal (A. discors), and common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula), respectively. There was a suggestion that ducks collected within 80 km of the industrial source of Hg at Dryden had higher residues than those collected farther downstream. Wabigoon-English River waterfowl-Hg levels declined as the hunting season progressed, possibly due to the influx of uncontaminated ducks from the west and north. [Concern that people who eat waterfowl might be exposed to high Hg levels prompted this study.].

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