ALBANY - An extensive study of New Yorks Adirondack loon
population has revealed that mercury contamination can lead to
population declines of the iconic bird. The research effort was
a joint project between the New York State Energy Research and
Development Authority (NYSERDA), Biodiversity Research Institute
(BRI) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). For nearly 10
years, researchers from these organizations followed mercury
contamination throughout the aquatic food chain, from
zooplankton to the Common Loon, in Cranberry and Lows lakes as
well as in other bodies of water.They found that loons with
elevated mercury levels produced significantly fewer chicks than
those with low mercury levels, particularly those breeding on
the more acidic lakes that are common in the Adirondack Park.
The newly released report, Long-term Monitoring and Assessment
of Mercury Based on Integrated Sampling Efforts Using the Common
Loon, Prey Fish, Water, and Sediment, highlights scientific
findings from 1998 to 2007 that