Mercury data from the primary peer-reviewed literature were compiled in BRI’s Global Biotic Mercury Synthesis (GBMS) database. These data, published in a Special Issue of the journal Ecotoxicology, include marine and freshwater fish, sea turtles, birds, and marine mammals and provide a foundation for establishing a biomonitoring framework needed to track mercury concentrations in biota world-wide.

A summary of this paper can be found in BRI’s publication Mercury Impacts to Biodiversity. These mercury data can help raise awareness of potential risks and benefits of consuming key food items and thereafter, help inform resource managers and decision makers about the species and places in which mercury represents a potential risk to human health.

The GBMS database also represents a valuable tool for: (1) integrating mercury science into important policy decisions related to the Minamata Convention on Mercury; (2) use by existing networks such as the Arctic Monitoring Assessment Programme (AMAP); and (3) protecting human health and the environment from the risks of mercury exposure.