There’s something in the water — and in the gators.
A University of Georgia ecotoxicology study found there may be elevated levels of mercury in Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp.
Researchers from the University of Georgia’s Odum School of Ecology and Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant analyzed blood samples of more than 100 alligators across several months to determine how size and diet in the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) affect mercury accumulation.
The alligators were from the Okefenokee Swamp, Jekyll Island and Yawkey Wildlife Center in South Carolina. The study had a larger sample size than many prior, and also tagged live gators, as opposed to testing samples from animals already hunted and killed.
Gators in the Okefenokee Swamp were found to have mercury levels eight times higher than those from the two coastal sites.