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DETERMINATION OF MERCURY IN MAGICICADA

HECKEL, PAMELA FUNDERBURG
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1194554247

Abstract Details

2007, PhD, University of Cincinnati, Engineering : Environmental Engineering.
The purpose of this doctoral research project is to broaden the scientific basis for understanding the impact of gaseous mercury emissions from stationary point sources and mobile sources on terrestrial life forms. The underlying hypothesis is that mercury emissions contribute significantly to the measured bioaccumulation in Periodical Cicadas. This study examines the presence of mercury in terrestrial insects. An analysis of Magicicada septendecium, Magicicada cassinii, and Magicicada septendecula from Brood I in Eagles Nest, VA and from and Brood X in Cincinnati, OH reveals the presence of mercury in the adult cicada in concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 4.46 ppmw. This level is comparable to mercury concentrations in herbivorous fish. Male cicadas contained a higher concentration than female cicadas in all species studied. An analysis of mercury in soils was inconclusive. The concentration of mercury in soils ranged from zero to more than twenty-five times the average concentration measured in the cicadas collected at a given location. A dispersion model of mobile source emissions using ISCST3 indicated a very weak correlation between the mercury measured in adult cicadas and the volume of traffic on nearby roads. A slightly stronger relationship existed between mercury in cicadas and predicted mercury deposition and concentration from utilities; however, the relationship between bioaccumulation and location was not straightforward. Emissions from non-utility businesses in the Mill Creek Valley affected collection sites in Elmwood Place due to mercury deposition and in Winton Terrace due to the concentration of mercury in the air. Sludge incinerators contributed to the predicted above average deposition on Mt. Adams. This study is the first to consider the contamination of adult, terrestrial insects due to gaseous mercury emissions from mobile and stationary sources. There is no significant statistical correlation between mercury measured in adult cicadas and the amount of mercury deposited on the ground or concentrated in the air as a direct result of anthropogenic activities. There may be as yet unidentified biological processes within either the ecosystem or the cicada that affect the amount of mercury measured.
Dr. Tim Keener (Advisor)
352 p.
Magicicada; cassinii; septendecium; septendecula; mercury in soils; mercury in adult insects; mercury in terrestrial insects; mercury in roots; exuviae; combustion AA; CVAAS; mercury in exuviae; mercury in insects

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • HECKEL, P. F. (2007). DETERMINATION OF MERCURY IN MAGICICADA [Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1194554247

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • HECKEL, PAMELA. DETERMINATION OF MERCURY IN MAGICICADA. 2007. University of Cincinnati, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1194554247.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • HECKEL, PAMELA. "DETERMINATION OF MERCURY IN MAGICICADA." Doctoral dissertation, University of Cincinnati, 2007. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1194554247

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1194554247
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© 2007, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.