Mercury's travel up the food chain| November 24, 2009 Mercury is
an environmental pollutant found in rivers, lakes and streams
world-wide. Biology professor Dan Cristol studies the impact
this element has on wildlife, particularly birds. Recently
Cristol and his team of researchers discovered that birds who do
not feed directly out of mercury contaminated water can still
show high levels of mercury exposure. The team determined this
contamination occurred when the birds ate mercury infused
spiders. The research is turning on its head the long-held dogma
of many scientists that the animals at risk from mercury
polluted water were the aquatic life that lived in the water.
Cristol’s research shows the problem may be more wide-spread.
The science has environmental policy implications as well.
Cristol talked recently with the William & Mary News about
mercury, birds, spiders, the food chain and the future. The
question now is how the spiders are getting the mercury. Are
they getting it directly from the water or i