Alligators found with increased levels of mercury in Georgia, South Carolina swamps
An estimated 5 million alligators live in the southern United States, with a population that has rebounded significantly after decades of federal protection. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, female alligators rarely exceed 10 feet in length, while males can grow much larger.
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FOLKSTON, Ga. – Researchers report finding elevated levels of mercury in alligators from Georgia and South Carolina, raising concerns about the environmental and health impacts of the chemical element.
Experts at the University of Georgia said they analyzed blood samples from more than 100 reptiles from the state’s Okefenokee Swamp and Jekyll Island, as well as the Yawkey Wildlife Center in South Carolina.
The study, published in the scientific journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, highlighted where the higher levels of the toxin were found.
"Alligators are very ancient creatures, and we can look at them in these areas as an indicator of what else might be happening in the ecosystem," Kristen Zemaitis, lead author of the study and a graduate of UGA’s Odum School of Ecology, told the university in an interview. "Studying them can relate to many different things in the food web."
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Mercury is a toxic heavy metal known to enter ecosystems through runoff, but the exact sources of the pollution impacting the animals in the most recent study are unknown.
Previous research has shown mercury accumulation in smaller animals in southern Georgia, but the examination of alligators offers a unique look at contamination at the top levels of the food chain.
According to the study, higher mercury concentrations were present in the larger, older alligators versus the younger population.
Researchers were also surprised to find high mercury levels in hatchlings, suggesting that maternal transfer of toxins is also at play.
The Okefenokee Swamp connects to both the Suwannee and St. Marys rivers, potentially highlighting dangers to other animals farther away.
"Mercury contamination can be a high concern for the people who consume a lot of fish or game species from the rivers, swamps, or oceans that have high mercury," Zemaitis stated. "In any given ecosystem, there are some organisms that can tolerate only very little amounts of mercury, which can result in neurological issues, reproductive issues, and eventually death."
Folkston, Georgia, Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, do not feed alligators and stop aquatic hitchhikers signs.
(Photo by: Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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Researchers stated that their findings indicate a need for additional surveillance and investigations to understand the full scope of the mercury and its direct sources.
While mercury can be found naturally occurring, human activities such as mining and industrial processes oftens leads to high levels of toxins.
"Now that we know this about one of the apex predators in these systems, we wonder what else is being affected?" Zemaitis stated. "I would like to investigate more about where exactly the mercury is coming from and how it’s getting into the ecosystem. It would be really great to pinpoint a prominent source and also see how it’s affecting other animals in the ecosystem."