Mercury

Mercury is a neurotoxin that impacts the function and development of the central nervous system. Released from coal-burning power plants and other industrial sources and carried around the globe, conventional thinking held that the mercury threat was limited to aquatic environments, since it is most readily converted to its toxic form there. But our scientists have led groundbreaking research showing elevated levels in terrestrial wildlife too.

Mercury in the Mountains

Conventional thinking held that the mercury threat was limited to aquatic environments since it is most readily converted to its toxic form (methylmercury) in wetlands. VCE has led groundbreaking research that has revealed elevated mercury levels, not only in birds, but throughout the food web. Learn more »

Mercury in Vernal Pools

Working with collaborators at Dartmouth College, VCE is examining the effects of landscape characteristics on mercury accumulation in vernal pools, and assessing its bioavailability to breeding amphibians and the terrestrial foodweb. Learn more »

Mercury in Caribbean Terrestrial Birds

We documented mercury in Caribbean songbirds, suggesting that the pollutant is moving in the atmosphere to tropical forests, the first such evidence of mercury in Caribbean land birds. Although our study did not identify sources of the mercury, our findings support growing evidence that the toxin is more pervasive than was once believed. Learn more »