Spatial and temporal variation in mercury bioaccumulation by zooplankton in Lake Champlain (North America)

Trophic transfer of Hg across lakes within a region has been related to multiple environmental factors, but the nature of these relationships across distinct basins within individual large lakes is unknown. We investigated Hg bioaccumulation in zooplankton in basins of differing trophic status in Lake Champlain (Vermont, USA) to determine the strongest predictors of Hg bioaccumulation. Zooplankton were sampled in Malletts Bay (oligotrophic) and Missisquoi Bay (eutrophic) in 2005–2008. Zooplankton in the eutrophic basin had lower concentrations of total Hg and MeHg than those in the oligotrophic basin in all years but 2007, when no bloom occurred in Missisquoi. In addition, Hg concentrations in seston and small zooplankton, sampled during 2009 at 12 sites spanning the lake, decreased with increasing phytoplankton and zooplankton biomass. Thus, Hg bioaccumulation in zooplankton across basins in Lake Champlain is related to trophic status, as observed previously in multiple lake studies.

► Lake Champlain zooplankton Hg was lower in the eutrophic than the oligotrophic basin. ► Algal blooms in years present biodiluted Hg in plankton. ► Lake-wide spatial patterns of Hg in plankton decreased with increasing biomass. ► Lake-wide Hg bioaccumulation patterns are consistent with multiple lake studies.