![]() ![]() Journal reference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010. ![]() “If the effect was as strong in humans as in the ibises, they’d have found it,” Frederick says. In particular, there’s no evidence for increased homosexuality in humans resulting from mercury poisoning, despite several long-term studies. Other birds would probably be similarly affected, though both Frederick and Scheuhammer say it’s far from clear whether other animal groups would be. “People normally study pairs that have already mated to see how good they are at parenting,” he says. Looking for effects on courtship and mating is novel, says Tony Scheuhammer of Environment Canada’s National Wildlife Research Center in Ottawa, Ontario. “In the worst-case scenario, the production of young would fall by 50 per cent,” says Frederick. The combined effects of male-male pairing and poor performance by male-female pairs could be severe. Meanwhile the heterosexual pairs courted less and were bad at parenting – patterns of behaviour that were both already known to be caused by methylmercury poisoning. For my own peace of mind it would be nice to know if Ive spent the last few years with elevated mercury levels and it would also be good to know for future refence Anyways, long rambling story aside, Im wondering if anyone here has ever gone through a similar experience of eating too much sushi or fish and suffering elevated mercury symptoms. Male-male matings were responsible for 81 per cent of unproductive nests in the dosed groups. Higher doses increased the effect, with 55 per cent of males in the 0.3 ppm group affected. Male-male pairs courted, built nests together and paired off for several weeks. PoisonedĪll three dosed groups had significantly more homosexual males than the control group. A second group got 0.1 ppm, and the third 0.05 ppm, a low dose that wild birds would be exposed to frequently. One group ate food with 0.3 parts per million methylmercury, which most US states would regard as too high for human consumption. ![]()
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