Jrd. Guimaraes et al., Mercury methylation along a lake-forest transect in the Tapajos river floodplain, Brazilian Amazon: seasonal and vertical variations, SCI TOTAL E, 261(1-3), 2000, pp. 91-98
The seasonal and spatial variations of net methylmercury production in sedi
ments, soils and other sites were evaluated by assays with Hg-203 at differ
ent depths and locations along a lake-forest transect at lake Enseada Grand
e, Tapajos river. Soil and sediment samples were taken at the surface and a
t different depths up to 9 cm. Fresh samples and acidified controls (1-3 g
dry wt.) were slurried with local water and incubated in the dark at 25-28
degrees C for 3 days with 0.5-1.6 mu g Hg g(-1) (dry wt.) added as (HgCl2)-
Hg-203. CH3 Hg-203 was extracted and measured in scintillation cocktail aft
er acid leaching. Methylmercury production varied by orders of magnitude am
ong sites and among sediment or soil layers. Seasonal variations were small
er than those with sample depth and location. In both seasons, MeHg formati
on in sediment and soil or flooded soil decreased with depth and was, in th
e top layers, one order of magnitude higher in the C-rich littoral macrophy
te zone (2.3-8.9%) and flooded forest (3.2-4.5%) than in the center of the
lake (0.2-0.56%). Similar MeHg production was found in slurried dry soils (
dry season) and in soils already flooded for months. In the macrophyte zone
soil (dry season), methylation was mainly associated with the thin Paspalu
m sp. rootlet layer. In the forest site, vertical variation in methylation
was less pronounced in flooded than in dry soils and during the inundation
the higher methylation rate was found in the flocculent sediment settled ov
er the litter layer. The roots of floating Paspalum sp. were an important H
g methylation site, particularly those heavily colonized with periphyton (3
.4-5.4%). Methylation in surface or near-bottom water was undetectable (< 3
x 10(-2)%) at all sites. Flooded forests and macrophyte mats are specific
features of the Amazon and are important links between Hg inputs from natur
al and manmade sources and MeHg exposure of local populations through fish
intake. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.