Methylmercury in larval amphibians across the USA and correlations between tail and whole-body methylmercury

Based on previous studies, we know that methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation is widespread in adult amphibians across the US. Bioaccumulation also varies by sex, size, species, and life histories and non-lethal sampling of toes and tails is an effective method for assessing bioaccumulation in adults. There is still limited information available on potential health effects of MeHg to both adults and larval amphibians, making it difficult to translate observed MeHg concentration into measures of risk, particularly under field conditions. We also know that dragonfly larvae are good indicators of MeHg in adult amphibians; however, there is no information on how dragonfly Hg concentrations relate to larval amphibian Hg bioaccumulation. Our study objectives are to (1) develop a non-lethal sampling method for larval amphibians by comparing MeHg in tail clips to whole body MeHg concentrations, (2) determine if dragonfly larvae are an acceptable indicator of MeHg bioaccumulation for larval amphibians and (3) document MeHg bioaccumulation in larval amphibians of multiple species.