Antarctic Sea Ice May Be A Source of Mercury in Southern Ocean Fish and Birds

Antarctic Sea Ice May Be A Source of Mercury in Southern Ocean Fish and Birds
Written by Caitlin m. Gionfiddo, Michael T. Tate, Ryan R. Wick and others
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This article describes that sea-ice bacteria are able to change mercury into methylmercury, which is more toxic and contaminates marine environments. The study was done in Australia and the findings were published in the Nature Microbiology journal. The methylmercury can travel to the brain and cause developmental issues in infants and children. Humans are effected by this because the larger fish that we consume will eat the smaller fish that has been contaminated. Researchers are saying that with this new finding it is even more important that we limit mercury pollution as well as consumption of certain kinds of fish. They are also saying that as global warming increases, the fish populations will deplete and people may look for seafood more in the southern regions where this is issue is occurring.