Enhanced Bioaccumulation and Transfer of Monomethylmercury through Periphytic Biofilms in Benthic Food Webs of a River Affected by Run-of-River Dams.

ABSTRACT: Run-of-river (ROR) power plants impound limited terrestrial areas compared to traditional hydropower plants with large reservoirs and are assumed to have reduced impacts on mercury cycling. We conducted a study on periphyton and benthic communities from different habitats of the St. Maurice River (Québec, Canada) affected by two ROR power plants and their effect on the bioaccumulation and biomagnification of monomethylmercury (MMHg). Proportion of total mercury as MMHg reached maximum values about 2.9 times higher in flooded sites compared to unflooded sites. Impoundment by ROR would therefore provide favorable environments for the growth of periphyton, which can produce and accumulate MMHg. Periphyton MMHg concentrations significantly explained concentrations in some benthic macroinverteb

SUBMITTER: Leclerc M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10720379 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature