GRAD Alumni Research Award 2014 Recipient: Justin Richardson, Earth Sciences
Mercury is a toxic metal that is negatively impacts the health of humans and wildlife that consume fish throughout the northeastern United States. Humans have increased the loading of mercury to aquatic ecosystems in this region through combustion of coal, incineration of waste, and other industrial processes. Soils act as a strong accumulator and ‘natural barrier’ preventing much of the human-derived mercury from entering lakes and rivers. However, exotic and invasive earthworm species threaten the stability and retention of mercury in the forest soils.
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