Temporal correspondence of selenium and mercury, among brine shrimp and water in Great Salt Lake, Utah, USA

Abstract

The specific source of high burdens of selenium (Se) and mercury (Hg) in several bird species at Great Salt Lake (GSL) remain unknown. Frequent co-located water and brine shrimp samples were collected during 2016 through 2017 to identify potential correlations of element concentrations among brines and brine shrimp, a keystone species in the GSL. Like many aquatic systems, GSL is characterized by elevated methylmercury (MeHg) in deep waters. However, in contrast to thermally-stratified aquatic systems, biota in the salinity-stratified GSL do not reside in its deep waters, obscuring the presumed relationship between elevated MeHg in biota and in the deep brine. Brine shrimp and water column (shallow and deep, filtered and unfiltered) samples were collected from six sites spanning the South Arm of GSL approximately every other month. Mercury concentrations in brine shrimp (on average 89% of which is MeHg) were correlated only with total mercury in surface filtered water, and displayed little spatial variability, but consistent seasonal trends across the two sampled years. In contrast to Hg, temporal correspondence was observed between Se concentrations in brine shrimp and those in all water samples regardless of filtering and depth, with maxima and minima at higher-than-seasonal frequency. The data suggest a spatially diffuse source of bioavailable mercury to the shallow brine that responds to seasonal influences, for which the underlying deep brine, surficial sediments, and overlying atmosphere were evaluated in terms of potential temporal correspondence to shallow brine and brine shrimp Hg concentrations, as well as potential to mix across the extent of the shallow brine. Bioaccumulation factors were at the low end of those reported for marine systems, and decreased at higher trace element concentrations in water.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Covariance; Deep brine; Salinity stratified; Seasonality; Trace element.