Mercury and the Food Web – Hawaii Sea Grant

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Mercury and the Food Web

In this episode, we learn how scientists use isotope analysis to understand food webs and how organisms are interacting.

Watch the trailer for Season 3, Episode 15 on Vimeo or Youtube.

FULL EPISODE

***Or watch this episode on* *YouTube***

Curriculum Connections:

Grade 5: Energy From the Sun
- Activity: Understanding Food Webs
- Fish Life: Food Webs

Grades 6-12: Energy Acquisition, Growth, Development, and Reproduction
- Question Set: Energy Acquisition, Growth, and Reproduction
- Weird Science: Hydrothermal Vents and Cold Seeps
Grades 6-12: Food Web Activity

Additional Resources:

Dr. Brian Popp, Oceanographer at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Read the Los Angeles Times article about Dr. Popp’s work “Mercury fingerprint of Pacific fish points to Asia coal power plants“
Read the scientific paper on “Mercury Cycling in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre as Revealed by Mercury Stable Isotope Ratios”
Read the scientific paper on “The influence of depth on mercury levels in pelagic fishes and their prey“

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Contact information:
Kanesa Seraphin, Ph.D.
kanesa@hawaii.edu

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