James J Willacker

Mercury in western North America: A synthesis of environmental contamination, fluxes, bioaccumulation, and risk to fish and wildlife

Western North America is a region defined by extreme gradients in geomorphology and climate, which support a diverse array of ecological communities and natural resources. The region also has extreme gradients in mercury (Hg) contamination due to a broad distribution of inorganic Hg sources. These diverse Hg sources and a varied landscape create a unique and complex mosaic of ecological risk from Hg impairment associated with differential methylmercury (MeHg) production and bioaccumulation. Understanding the landscape-scale variation in the magnitude and relative importance of processes associated with Hg transport, methylation, and MeHg bioaccumulation requires a multidisciplinary synthesis that transcends small-scale...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation

Fish tissue mercury and selenium concentrations in Upper Colorado River Basin: 1962-2011

These data were compiled to study mercury and selenium concentrations in fish species and assemblages in lotic waterbodies across the Upper Colorado River Basin. Data were compiled from State and Federal agencies. This data table contains raw concentration data, as well as standardized concentrations corrected for differences based on sample type (i.e., tissue type), species-specific bioaccumulation rates (Table S1), and fish size (Table S2). The data were used in linear mixed effects models to estimate average mercury and selenium concentration in fish species and in fish assemblages, including fish total length (cm), sampling location (Sub basin name and GPS coordinates), and sampling year (Figures 2,3, and 4...

Categories: Data; Tags: Arizona, Colorado, Colorado Headwaters, Colorado River, Dirty Devil River, All tags... Dolores River, Great Divide-Upper Green River, Green River, Gunnison, Gunnison River, Lower Green, New Mexico, San Juan, San Juan River, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Upper Colorado River Basin, Upper Colorado-Dirty Devil, Upper Colorado-Dolores, Utah, White River, White-Yampa, Yampa River, bioaccumulation, biota, endangered species, environment, fish, fish samples, fish tissue, fishes, mercury, mercury, mercury contamination, selenium, selenium, selenium concentration, Fewer tags

Total mercury concentrations in dragonfly larvae from U.S. national parks (ver. 9.0, November 2023)

Comma-separated values (.csv) file containing data related to mercury concentrations in dragonfly samples from U.S. National Parks collected as part of the Dragonfly Mercury Project (DMP). This data release supersedes Eagles-Smith, C.A., Nelson, S.J., Flanagan-Pritz, C.M., Willacker Jr., J.J., and Klemmer, A.J., 2018, Total mercury concentrations in dragonfly larvae from U.S. national parks (ver. 8.0, December 2022): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TK6NPT. Please contact fresc_outreach@usgs.gov for access.

Categories: Data, Data Release - Revised; Tags: Acadia National Park, Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, Amistad National Recreation Area, Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, All tags... Aquatic Biology, Assateague Island National Seashore, Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, Bear Creek Lake Park, Bear Meadows Natural Area, Big Bend National Park, Big Cypress National Preserve, Big Thicket National Preserve, Buffalo National River, Cape Cod National Seashore, Capitol Reef National Park, Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Channel Islands National Park, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, City of Rocks National Reserve, Colorado National Monument, Congaree National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Death Valley National Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Denali National Park and Preserve, Devils Tower National Monument, East Inlet Natural Area-Connecticut Lakes Nature Preserve, Ecology, Ell Pond Preserve, Everglades National Park, Fort Larned National Historic Site, Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge National Natural Landmark, Gateway National Recreation Area, Glacier Bay National Park & Preserve, Glacier National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Portage National Monument, Grand Teton National Park, Great Basin National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Homestead National Monument, Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, Hot Springs National Park, Indiana Dunes National Park, Isle Royale National Park, Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Joshua Tree National Park, Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Katmai National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kenilworth Park & Aquatic Gardens, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Lassen Volcanic National Park, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Lilley Cornett Woods, Mammoth Cave National Park, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park, Maurice National Wild and Scenic River, Minute Man National Historical Park, Mississippi National River & Recreation Area, Monocacy National Battlefield, Montezuma Castle National Monument, Mount Rainier National Park, Natchez Trace Parkway and National Scenic Trail, New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, Niobrara National Scenic River, North Cascades National Park, Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park, Olympic National Park, Oregon Caves National Monument, Ozark National Scenic Riverway, Padre Island National Seashore, Petersburg National Battlefield, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Pinnacles National Park, Pipestone National Monument, Prince William Forest Park, Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site, Redwood National Park, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River, Rock Creek Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites, Saguaro National Park, Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway, Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, San Juan Island National Historical Park, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, Shenandoah National Park, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, Sudbury, Assabet & Concord Wild & Scenic Rivers, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Timucuan Ecological Historic Preserve, Tumacacori National Historical Park, Tuzigoot National Monument, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, Valles Caldera National Preserve, Voyageurs National Park, Water Quality, Weir Farm National Historical Park, Wekiva Wild & Scenic River, White Mountain National Forest, Wildlife Biology, Wind Cave National Park, Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park, biota, environment, mercury contamination, Fewer tags

Mercury risk to avian piscivores across western United States and Canada

The widespread distribution of mercury (Hg) threatens wildlife health, particularly piscivorous birds. Western North America is a diverse region that provides critical habitat to many piscivorous bird species, and also has a well-documented history of mercury contamination from legacy mining and atmospheric deposition. The diversity of landscapes in the west limits the distribution of avian piscivore species, complicating broad comparisons across the region. Mercury risk to avian piscivores was evaluated across the western United States and Canada using a suite of avian piscivore species representing a variety of foraging strategies that together occur broadly across the region. Prey fish Hg concentrations were...

Categories: Publication; Types: Citation

Hydrological, Chemical, and Biological Characterization of the Snake River and Associated Tributaries and Irrigation Drains from River Mile 448 to 346, 2022

This dataset includes field hydrologic measurements and laboratory analyses of surface and pore waters, sediments, benthic plants/biofilms, and biota along the Middle Snake River upgradient of the Hells Canyon Complex. The study region for this work focuses on a section of the Snake River heavily utilized for agriculture, with complex systems of irrigation diversion and return drainage, spanning 164 km above the Hells Canyon Complex (Idaho, Oregon). The goal of this study was to identify potential loading sources of methylmercury from the upgradient Snake River into the reservoir complex, with a focus on the tributaries, irrigation return drains, and riparian zones adjacent to agricultural lands along the river....

Categories: Data; Tags: Aquatic Biology, Environmental Health, Geochemistry, Hydrology, Idaho, All tags... Oregon, Snake River, USGS Science Data Catalog (SDC), Water Quality, aquatic ecosystems, bioaccumulation, biofilm, biota, dissolved metals, ecotoxicology, environment, geochemistry, hydrology, inlandWaters, invertebrates, mercury, methylmercury, pore water quality, sediment quality, surface water quality, water chemistry, Fewer tags